HYDERABAD: City-based heritage activists and historians want the State government to include local historical narrative into school books. According to historian Dr Muhammad Safiullah, the State has a very rich and diverse heritage which needs to be protected.
“We have a history of the Kakatiyas, Qutub Shahis and Asaf Jahis, which span 1,000 years. There are a lot of books from the 19th Century, which have great historical value. As there is no copyright issue in reprinting these books, the State government should come forward and reprint them and add parts of it into school textbooks,” he said.
He added that while there are several history courses in the State universities, there is not much heritage education given in schools. “CBSE, ICSE and SSC board textbooks do not have any mention of local history.
Many dynasties have ruled this part of the country and these rulers had come up with effective solutions to tackle issues such as water crisis and drainage. “We have raised this issue with the State government many times. The government has also constituted a committee to look into this matter and recently, we have given a 1,000 page historical text to the committee, of which some parts can be added into textbooks,” he added.
According to the tourist department, the State has seen a rise in tourism in the last four years which is due to its heritage sites. Manohar, Tourism Department Managing Director said, “The city generates most of its tourism revenue from its heritage monuments.”