It’s official now. Textbooks for undergraduate students of BA History in the State are all set to be revised with focus on Telangana from next year by the Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE).

The State’s history will completely replace that of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh in the ‘State History’ section, pushing the latter bit into the ‘National History’ section, said Prof. Mallesh Sankasala, vice-chairman, TSCHE. The topics for revision were chosen here on Wednesday by a committee comprising faculty members from history departments of all State universities along with TSCHE officials.

“The new BA History Common Course Syllabus for undergraduate history students will be changed from the next academic year itself. There will be no mention of Andhra Pradesh in the ‘State History’ section,” informed Prof. Sankasala. He further stated that the main emphasis was to concentrate on Telangana’s culture and folklore while choosing the new syllabus for the undergraduate students.

Prof. Sankasala said that Potti Sreeramulu, who is known as the ‘father’ of the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh, was ‘forced’ onto the students previously. “There will be a separate chapter on the 1969 agitation for Telangana statehood, while the 2009 movement will be part of the ‘contemporary history’ pages,” he explained.

The revision of the BA History Common Course Syllabus is part of TSCHE’s move to revise all undergraduate textbooks of all social sciences and language books to include Telangana history wherever applicable. Prof. Sankasala also mentioned that information on the ‘Bathukamma’ festival will be included as well.

“Only one or two parts of the unified Andhra Pradesh, its formation and later years will be there in the ‘National History’ part. The ‘State History’ part will teach only about Telangana,” Prof. Sankasala affirmed, and added that revision of other subjects will be completed in the coming two months.