By Basant Kumar Mohanty / Telegraph India
Delhi University has cancelled a lecture that faculty member and RJD parliamentarian Manoj Jha, a trenchant critic of the Narendra Modi government and Hindutva politics, was scheduled to deliver to young teachers.
Jha has been associated with the university for 30 years.
On August 18, the Centre for Professional Development in Higher Education (CPDHE) at DU had invited Jha, a senior faculty member with the university’s department of social work, as a resource person (subject expert) for an online refresher course on social work and the social sciences. He was requested to speak on “Political social work: New opportunity for practice” on September 4 between 10am and 11.30am.
However, Jha received a letter on Wednesday from CPDHE director Geeta Singh informing him that “due to some unavoidable circumstances your lecture has been cancelled. Inconvenience caused is regretted”.
The university’s action has prompted Jha and the newly formed umbrella teachers’ body, the Democratic United Teachers’ Alliance, to highlight how the varsity administration is being driven by narrow considerations and intolerance. The teachers’ alliance is an association of the INDIA coalition parties.
“What worries me is that my own institution, where I take regular classes, supervise PhD students, and where I have been working for the last 30 years is doing this with me. I speak in Parliament and in public places and write in newspapers. Universities are meant to discuss alternative ideas and alternative philosophical paradigms. If you narrow down the idea of the university, the whole purpose of the institution will be defeated. How can India become a Vishwaguru with such myopic views?” Jha said.
This story was originally published in telegraphindia.com. Read the full story here