NEW DELHI: After over a year, when the academic council of Delhi University passed a motion to remove a chapter on Pakistan’s national poet Muhammad Iqbal from the political science syllabus, DU’s Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh categorically stated that the varsity would not teach Iqbal’s works in its courses.
The V-C said Hindutva icon Vinayak Damodar Savarkar would be taught, adding that DU would teach the works of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr B R Ambedkar, and Savarkar but not Iqbal, whom he charged with “initiating the partition of India in the run-up to 1947.”
During an event on Wednesday, the Vice Chancellor, Yogesh Singh, delivered a message on nationalism to the students. He urged them not to compromise on India’s unity and to stand together against any forces that seek to divide the communities.
He also said that students must learn and read more about Savarkar, Gandhi, Ambedkar, and other leaders who have actually sacrificed their lives fighting for the country’s independence.
Last year, while removing the chapter titled ‘’Thought’ from thecal thought’’ from the sixth-semester same paper, the DU had justified the decision to drop Iqbal’sIqbal’s work and life on the grounds that “he laid the foundation to partition” and should not be included in the syllabus.
This story was originally published in newindianexpress.com. Read the full story here.
