The University of Delhi has revised its postgraduate History curriculum under the university's Postgraduate Curriculum Framework (PGCF) 2024, with a dedicated paper on the Delhi Sultanate no longer appearing in the newly notified Semester III structure.
The earlier paper, titled "Structures of Authority: The Delhi Sultanate and the Making of Medieval Society in North India, c. 1200-1400", was offered as a specialised elective in the Medieval Indian History stream. The department's Semester III course list for August-November 2025 included the paper alongside subjects such as the economic and social history of India, gender relations in Mughal India, eastern India, connected empires and the medieval Deccan.
The revised postgraduate structure approved by Delhi University lists a different set of courses. For Semester I, for example, it introduces "Medieval Societies: Structures, Cultures, and Exchange (c.500-1500 CE)" as a core course, alongside courses on the ancient world and historiography.
The change does not mean that the Delhi Sultanate has been removed from Delhi University's History curriculum altogether. The Sultanate remains part of other courses and historical periods covered by the department. The university's earlier undergraduate History curriculum, for instance, includes material on the Sultanates of Delhi, while the broader medieval-history courses cover political structures, economy, society, culture and religion during the period.
What has changed?
Under the earlier postgraduate structure, the Delhi Sultanate had a dedicated specialised paper. The course examined the establishment and expansion of Sultanate rule and the structures through which authority operated in northern India between roughly the 13th and 14th centuries.
The paper was part of a wider pool of Medieval Indian History electives. The 2025 Semester III list shows that students could choose from several specialised courses, including the Delhi Sultanate paper, "The Economic and Social History of India c. 1200-1800", "Gender Relations in Mughal India", "Eastern India in Transition" and "Medieval Deccan".
The new PG framework changes the organisation of the programme. Instead of retaining the same specialised paper in the Semester III list, the revised structure groups medieval history into broader thematic courses.
Delhi University's current website lists PGCF 2024 syllabi among its latest academic notifications, with the university notifying revised postgraduate curricula as part of the new framework.
Delhi Sultanate remains part of History courses
The removal of one dedicated paper should therefore be distinguished from removing the Delhi Sultanate as a subject of study.
The university's existing History curricula continue to cover the period through broader courses. Its undergraduate syllabus, for example, includes the "History of India - IV (c. 1200-1500)" and covers political structures including the Sultanates of Delhi, transitions in ruling elites, service cultures and the iqta system.
The university has also historically offered several specialised postgraduate courses dealing with medieval India. An earlier MA structure listed courses including "Structures of Authority: The Delhi Sultanate and the Making of Medieval Society in North India, c. 1200-1400", along with subjects covering North India, Mughal India, the eighteenth century, religion and society, economic history and medieval Deccan.
The revised curriculum therefore represents a change in how the subject is organised and taught, rather than evidence that Delhi Sultanate history has disappeared from the university's History programme.
The change comes amid continuing debate in Indian universities over curriculum design, historical interpretation and the balance between specialised and broader thematic courses. The university's official documents, however, do not in themselves state that the Delhi Sultanate paper was dropped for ideological or political reasons.