Pakistan and China will no longer be taught in Delhi University. Delhi University can remove courses on Pakistan, China, Islam and political violence from its MA political science curriculum. Faculty members say that the university’s course panel has recommended the removal of many voluntary subjects. This decision of Dian has been opposed by faculty members. He believes that this decision of DU is inspired by politics.
The University’s Standing Committee on Educational Affairs has held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the syllabus of several courses. Dr. Monami Sinha, member of the Standing Committee and member of the Academic Council, said that during the meeting, political science PG syllabus came under the purview of “important investigation”.
Decision to remove these courses
Monami Sinha said, “The courses that have been removed and those who have been asked to give a new look are ‘Pakistan and World’, ‘Role of China in the contemporary world’, ‘Islam and international relations’,’ Pakistan: state and society ‘,’ religious nationalism and political violence ‘are’. Talking to ANI, Monami Sinha said that these papers will either be completely removed or other courses will be included in their place.
After this, new courses will be sent to the course committee of the department. The committee will prepare a new course. This course will be presented for the approval of the course panel of the university and then presented in the Academic Council for approval. ANI contacted the Delhi University administration, but did not receive any response at the time of filing this report.
Why is it necessary to read Pakistan, China
Recently, Vice Chancellor of Delhi University Yogesh Singh informed us that the heads of Delhi University (DU) have been asked to review their syllabus and remove any unnecessary glimpresses of Pakistan. This statement has come in view of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April. However, the faculty members of DU have objected to these amendments in the syllabus, saying that “forced” changes are regressive and politically motivated. Dr. Monami Sinha argued that removing these courses weakens academic rigor and geopolitical understanding.
He said in his note, “It is necessary to study Pakistan in detail, as educationally we need to train our students and promote research on Pakistan, as it is one of the continuous challenges of India’s foreign policy.” He also warned against excluding China at a time when he is emerging as a prominent player in the global south.
Demand to remove these courses
Along with political courses, the committee recommended the removal of unit 3 on internal conflict and religious violence in MA Geography (Semester 1), including a text by Paul Brass. In social geography paper, the Speaker has objected to the topic “Distribution of SC population”. Apart from this, there is talk of not emphasizing on caste-related content.
Sinha said that in Sociology, Introductory Theory Papers were criticized only to rely on Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emil Durkheim, which spoke of involving Indian theorists and joint family structures. The statement made by Cath Weston on gay families was also objected, in which the chairman said gay marriages in India are not valid.
Abha Dev, Secretary, Democratic Teachers Front (DTF), condemned the suggested changes, alleging that the academic autonomy of the departments is over and “we all should be worried”. Instead of educational and scientific investigation questions, it is wrong to understand the courses focused on “beliefs”. Abha Dev said, ‘DU was known for its UG courses. These forced changes will adversely affect the scholarship of students. This should all we all be worried “.
Meanwhile, Mithuraj Dhusia, a selected member of the Academic Council, has questioned the powers of the Standing Committee. He said that this committee can suggest change, but cannot ask any department to remove any lesson directly.