Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh (left) said that the idea of partition was first raised by Urdu poet Muhammad Iqbal. , photo credit: file photo
Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh on Saturday announced the decision to drop a chapter on Urdu poet Muhammad Iqbal from the BA (Political Science) syllabus, saying “those who laid the foundation for breaking India should not be in the syllabus”.
The 15-hour-long meeting of the academic council of the university, which ended at 1.20 pm on Saturday, passed a resolution to drop the famous poet’s chapter on ‘Modern Indian Political Thought’ from the sixth semester of BA (Political Science). Under Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF).
While the university cleared several proposals, including the formation of Center for Independence and Partition Studies, a section of Academic Council members who attended the meeting said that there was a paper on Mahatma Gandhi in the fifth semester of BA (Political Science) course. Replaced with one on Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar. Though the paper on Mahatma Gandhi will now be taught in the seventh semester, dissident members said the move “will essentially mean that students opting for the three-year undergraduate course instead of the four-year program will not study Gandhi”.
‘Study National Heroes’
Born in 1877 in Sialkot, undivided India, the national poet of Pakistan wrote the famous song ‘Saare Jahan Se Accha Hindustan Hamara’. Mr. Iqbal, also known as Allama Iqbal, is often credited with having originated the idea of Pakistan.
Stating that the idea of partition and establishment of Pakistan was first mooted by the poet, Mr Singh said, “Instead of teaching about such persons, we should study our national heroes.”
The university said the Center for Independence and Partition Studies, through research work, will throw light on the unsung heroes and events of the freedom movement, which have not found a place in history so far.
On August 14, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced to observe the day annually as Partition Horror Memorial Day to remember the struggles, sacrifices and pain of the people of India due to Partition.
“Events during the tragedy of Partition will also be studied and researched in depth and oral history will be recorded in the voices of those who lived through the tragedy of that era,” the university said.
dissent note
Six members of the academic council submitted their dissent note on the Center for Independence and Partition Studies saying the proposal is divisive as one of the stated objectives says the center will study and research the invasions and consequential sufferings and slavery. Happened over the past 1,300 years.
“A discussion on the past 1,300 years will only provide an opportunity for toxic communal discourse. Every imaginable kind of credible historical scholarship has established the partition as the result of a distinctly modern and colonial context,” the protesting members said in their note. Said.