The syllabus for the Master of Arts (MA) in Political Science course at the University of Delhi (DU) may no longer include references to Pakistan, China, Islam, and political violence, as the university plans to remove courses on these topics from its curricula.
These courses include 'Pakistan and the World', 'China's Role in the Contemporary World', 'Islam and International Relations', 'Pakistan: State and Society', and 'Religious Nationalism and Political Violence', which will be dropped or replaced.
DU Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh directed department heads to eliminate any "excessive glorification of Pakistan" from their syllabus following the April 22 Pahalgam incident, according to ANI.
The decision to potentially withdraw these courses from Delhi University's MA Political Science department has sparked outrage among faculty members, who claim that it would damage the geopolitical understanding.
Dr Monami Sinha, a member of DU’s Academic Standing Committee, stated that the Political Science PG curriculum received "significant scrutiny" when the university's Standing Committee on Academic Matters met to discuss the syllabi of numerous courses.
"It is imperative to study Pakistan in detail because, pedagogically, we need to train our students and foster scholarship on Pakistan, as it remains one of India's constant foreign policy challenges," she stated in her note.
Abha Dev, Secretary of the Democratic Teachers' Front (DTF), also protested the proposal, citing academic autonomy.
She said, “The dumbing down of courses by revisions centred around 'beliefs' rather than questions of pedagogy and scientific inquiry is unfortunate. Forced revisions are retrograde and are politically motivated… These forced changes will adversely impact students' scholarships. This should worry all of us.”
Rudrashish Chakraborty, a member of the DUTA Executive Council, reminded university officials of the significance of debate. The official emphasised that while modifications can be suggested, departments cannot be forced to implement them.
If the courses on Pakistan, China, and Islam are replaced, the new ones will be referred to the department's course committee, which will then create a new curriculum.
This syllabus will be presented for approval to the university syllabus panel before being tabled in front of the Academic Council.
