The Democratic Teachers’ Initiative (DTI) has urged the University Grants Commission (UGC) to seek the withdrawal of a Ministry of Education communication asking central universities to respond to an anonymous social media post questioning prescribed academic readings.
In a statement issued on Friday, the teachers’ body raised concerns over an email sent by the Ministry’s Department of Higher Education to registrars of several central universities on September 27, The Wire reports. The communication referred to correspondence from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and sought comments on the post, along with details of student enrolment in the courses it mentioned.
The post flagged works by Dr BR Ambedkar, Jyotirao Phule, EV Ramasamy Periyar, Gail Omvedt, Sharmila Rege, Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd and Uma Chakravarti, among other anti-caste scholars. It reportedly characterised some of the readings as “anti-Hindu” and accused left-leaning academics of promoting them.
The teachers’ body argued that curriculum decisions should be made through established academic mechanisms, including departments, Boards of Studies, faculties and Academic Councils. It said scrutiny prompted by anonymous social media posts could undermine university autonomy and discourage teachers and researchers from engaging with politically sensitive subjects.
The statement also questioned the involvement of executive authorities in decisions concerning prescribed readings, arguing that academic material should be assessed on scholarly and pedagogical grounds rather than political acceptability.
DTI has asked the UGC to clarify whether it played any role in initiating or facilitating the ministry’s communication. It has also called on the commission to reaffirm its commitment to academic autonomy and urge the ministry to withdraw the email or clarify that it does not direct universities to alter their approved curricula.
The controversy follows a September 27 communication that asked universities to furnish comments on the anonymous post and provide enrolment details for the courses mentioned. The flagged readings include works addressing caste, gender, social inequality and political thought.
The teachers’ body said that curriculum-related concerns should be addressed through established statutory procedures rather than executive scrutiny triggered by unverified social media material.