Delhi University The chapter on Mohammad Iqbal has been allegedly dropped in the (DU) political science syllabus and the chapter on Indian revolutionary Veer Savarkar has been added. Now this matter has taken the form of a ruckus. After the uproar, Savarkar’s grandson Ranjit said, this is very good news.
DU Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh said why we were teaching Mohammad Iqbal for the last 75 years
DU Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh on removal of chapter on Mohammad Iqbal and addition of chapter on Indian revolutionary Veer Savarkar in political science syllabus: I don’t know why we were teaching his (Mohammad Iqbal’s) part for last 75 years. I agree that he served India by composing the popular song ‘Saare Jahan Se Accha’, but he never believed in it. Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh said, Mohammad Iqbal has played a big role in the making of Pakistan.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was included in a ‘paper’ in place of Mahatma Gandhi
Significantly, the university has included Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in a ‘paper’ in place of Mahatma Gandhi in the fifth semester of BA (Hons) Political Science course. The chapter on Mahatma Gandhi will now be taught in semester seven, which will mean that students opting for the three-year undergraduate course instead of the four-year program will not study Gandhi.
#WATCH , DU vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh speaks on the removal of chapter on Muhammad Iqbal and the addition of chapter on Indian revolutionary Veer Savarkar in Political Science syllabus, says, "I don’t know why we were teaching his (Muhammad Iqbal’s) part in the syllabus for… pic.twitter.com/f24CfKVbI8
— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2023
Allegations of saffronisation of education
A resolution in this regard was passed in the academic council meeting on Friday. The move has drawn sharp criticism from a section of teachers, who have termed it as saffronisation of education and an attempt to compare Gandhi and Savarkar. Academic council member Alok Pandey said, earlier, there was a paper on Gandhi in semester five and a paper on Ambedkar in semester six. Now, they have included a paper on Savarkar, he said. We don’t have any problem with it. But they have done it by removing Gandhi. They have shifted the paper on Gandhi from semester five to seven.