DU Academic Council to meet on May 26 over removing paper on Ambedkar?; SDTC writes to Prez

The Academic Council of Delhi University (DU) is scheduled to convene tomorrow, May 26, amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding the removal of the philosophy of BR Ambedkar from the BA syllabus. In a meeting held on May 8, 2023, the DU Standing Committee purportedly recommended eliminating the course titled "Philosophy of Dr Ambedkar" offered by the Philosophy Department. This decision sparked a significant backlash from the department itself.

Additionally, the Social Democratic Teachers Front (SDTF) penned a letter to the Honourable President of India dated May 22, urging a reconsideration of this elimination. The letter states, “We, the following academics, are seriously agitated and concerned about the unwise decision of the university when the whole country is looking towards Ambedkar and his writings for solutions to contemporary problems.” 

Dr SK Sagar, the Chairperson of SDTF, denounces this action as an "academic atrocity." He questions, "Why was it deemed necessary to discard this course?" and adds, "BR Ambedkar is the subject of research in numerous universities, not just in India, but across the world."

It is worth noting that in addition to the BR Ambedkar course, papers on Mahatma Gandhi and Vivekananda were also submitted to the Academic Council for consideration. However, according to reports, the committee suggested the inclusion of a paper on a female thinker and another on a socialist thinker.