According to a statement released by Delhi University (DU) on Saturday, it has added a section on Indian revolutionary and Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, popularly known as Veer Savarkar, for the fifth semester and switched chapters on Mahatma Gandhi to the seventh semester in the most recent syllabi changes implemented in Bachelor of Arts (BA) political science during the Academic Council (AC) meeting held on Friday. Notably, the former has never before been covered in a curriculum.
Alok Ranjan Pandey, a member of DU’s AC stated, “Earlier, Savarkar was not part of the syllabus, whereas Gandhi was taught in the fifth semester. Now, they have included Savarkar in the fifth semester, Ambedkar in the sixth, and Gandhi in the seventh. While we have no objection to Savarkar being introduced, he should not be taught before Gandhi and his teachings.”
The varsity’s AC approved a number of curriculum revisions on Friday, including the removal of poet Muhammad Iqbal, also known as Allama Iqbal, from the BA political science syllabus. DU vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh said, “Those who laid the foundation to break India have no place being a part of the syllabus,” while presiding over the meeting.
Iqbal’s removal from the curriculum was not unanimous, with some AC members claiming that he served India by composing the popular song “Sare Jahan Se Acha.” He was a renowned Urdu and Persian poet from the region and more importantly, is credited with contributing to pioneering the notion of Pakistan and dividing the country. He became a Pakistani citizen after its creation.
A council member remarked, “The decision was not unanimous as a lot of people objected to his removal. However, the arguments were made by the majority that his contribution to the partition outweighed any other positive contribution.”
The vice chancellor, meantime, stressed the need of educating more about Dr BR Ambedkar and instructed the faculty to create additional courses based on his ideas and philosophy.
“Iqbal wrote songs supporting the Muslim League and the Pakistan movement. Iqbal was also the first to raise the idea of the Partition of India and the establishment of Pakistan. Instead of teaching about such people, we should study our national heroes,” he mentioned during the meeting.
The reading “Political Thoughts of Muhammad Iqbal” was covered in Indian Political Thought-2 during the sixth semester.
The VC advised the head of the economics department at the Delhi School of Economics to write a paper on the economic ideas of BR Ambedkar and suggested that the AC look at ways to teach more about him. He also suggested that they instruct students more about the Indian economic model, the US model, and the European model.
The meeting approved the course syllabi for the Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF) 2022’s fourth, fifth, and sixth semesters of various courses. Although the philosophy department’s BA courses include the Philosophy of Dr Ambedkar, the Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, and the Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, VC Yogesh Singh urged that the faculty explore the potential of incorporating Savitribai Phule into the curriculum.
The meeting, which started at 10.30 am on Friday in the DU’s Council Hall, ran for over 15 hours before coming to an end at 1:20 am. During the meeting, multiple new undergraduate courses were approved, including one on the University of Delhi Innovation and Startup Policy.
Furthermore, three additional B. Tech degrees, comprising electrical engineering, electronics and communication engineering, and computer science and engineering, were authorised for the 2023–24 academic year. The Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) programme, which would be a four-year course, was also given AC approval to commence.
It also resolved to launch two new five-year Bachelor of Legislative Law (LLB) programmes as well as centres for tribal studies and the partition. The university’s executive council (EC), which is due to convene next on June 9, will give final approval to the recommendations by the AC meeting.
