Actor R. Madhavan recently expressed concern over the history syllabus in Indian schools, questioning why the course module did not include lessons on the centuries old southern kingdoms of the subcontinent.

The 54-year-old actor’s remark comes after the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) recently removed content about the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal empire from the Class 7 syllabus.

References to social movements and the caste system have also been removed from the syllabus, which will now include religious pilgrimages like the Mahakumbh festival and recent government initiatives such as Make in India and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao.

“I might get into trouble for saying this, but I'll still say it. When I studied history in school, there were eight chapters on the Mughals, two on the Harappa and Mohenjo-daro civilizations, four on British rule and the freedom struggle and just one chapter on the southern kingdoms - the Cholas, Pandyas, Pallavas, and Cheras,” Madhavan said in an interview with News18.

“The British and the Mughals ruled us for close to 800 years, but the Chola Empire is 2,400 years old,” he added.

Madhavan went on to highlight the importance of the southern kingdoms in Indian history. “They were pioneers of sea travel and naval power. They had spice routes that extended to Rome. Where’s that part of our history? Where’s the mention of us building temples all the way to Angkor Wat with our mighty naval forces? Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism spread to China. People in Korea speak half Tamil because that’s how far our language reached. And we encapsulated all of this in just one chapter,” he said.

Taking a dig at the curators of the syllabus, Madhavan said, “Whose narrative is this? Who decided the syllabus? Tamil is the oldest language in the world, but nobody knows about it. The scientific knowledge hidden in our culture is being mocked right now.”

Madhavan also expressed his discontent with the way the colonial era is depicted in textbooks. “Many of us may believe that humne Jallianwala Bagh mein badmaashi kiye honge because that’s what their version of history teaches us. Going back to what I said, I shouldn’t be getting into trouble for this, because it’s a fact,” he said.

Madhavan’s latest film Kesari Chapter 2 is based on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Based on the book The Case That Shook the Empire, the film also stars Akshay Kumar and Ananya Panday.