Kannur: On Saturday, Higher Education Minister R Bindu took to social media to express her disapproval of the newly-introduced MA Governance and Politics course syllabus at Kannur University, stating that the government does not want classrooms to become places of communal agenda. According to her, the syllabus appears to be formulated with the notion that political thoughts form views on religion and castes. As a result, the Minister has also conveyed the opinion of the Higher Education Department to the university.
The controversy arose when Kannur University recently sanctioned a new course under the Public Administration Department. The University has included the writings of Hindutva leaders in the course syllabus. The syllabus includes books written by prominent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) figures, including MS Golwalkar, Veer Savarkar, and Deendayal Upadhyaya. Following this, KSU and MSF students protested at the University over the syllabus. According to them, the new syllabus is trying to saffronize the education system.
Read also: IRCTC set to open another executive lounge at New Delhi Railway Station
Higher Education Minister Bindu also spoke out against the syllabus on Saturday, saying that the students should examine all political thoughts. She said, however, that the government has no desire to turn classrooms that should be secular places into communal ones. In addition, the Minister said that the department’s concerns have been communicated to the university.
On September 10, Kannur University rejected the claims that it saffronises education with RSS ideologies. Meanwhile, the University has also formed an external panel to review the syllabus, and a two-member committee has been instructed to submit a report within five days. KU Vice-Chancellor Gopinath Ravindran has said that the allegations of saffronization are groundless and such allegations can even be raised against the Jawaharlal Nehru University due to it having a syllabus on VD Savarkar.
Post Your Comments