NEW DELHI: The National Democratic Teachers’ Front (NDTF) has welcomed the decision of the Academic Council of the University of Delhi to include Veer Damodar Savarkar’s contribution and philosophy in the political science syllabus and drop the philosophical teachings of poet Muhammad Iqbal.
“We firmly believe that this updated curriculum will offer a more comprehensive and inclusive educational experience, encouraging critical thinking, intellectual discourse, and a deeper understanding of the diverse perspectives that shape India,” said the NDTF in a statement released on Thursday.
‘Manipulated academics’
“Whether intentionally or unintentionally, history and political science books in post-Independent India and their writers have never tried to put all the historical facts in front of the readers as they were,” said the NDTF.
“India’s post-independent scholarship in history and political science has never allowed readers to appreciate diverse palimpsests of the evolution of the Indian subcontinent and make their own judgement about any political and historical events. It appears as if post-independent academics in these two areas from India, driven by their self-interest or manipulated by external actors, wanted to blindfold the generations to come with their own views, apprehensions and twisted sense of secularism. As a result, grave injustice has been done to many historical personalities who laid down their life for this country to help India break free from the clutches of British imperialism,” it added.
The NDTF further said that it was imperative that the university “acknowledges and take concrete measures to bring all such icons to the forefront so that they get their rightful place in Indian iconography and more so in the minds of the students and teachers so that they enrich themselves and society”.
‘Seed of secession’
Stating that historical figures who have been divisive and votary of the division of Bharat “need a ruthless critique” in order to gauge the depth to which the “seed of secession is sown in literature”, the NDTF claimed that Iqbal, who wrote ‘Sare Jahan Se Achha Hindustan Hamara…’, also talked about the Islamic Khilafat.
“As president of the Muslim League, Iqbal’s ideas were against democracy and Indian secularism. Many of Iqbal’s writings have been associated with the idea of a separate Muslim nation, ultimately leading to India’s partition. This concept of the Two-Nation Theory, played a significant role in the partition of India, resulting in immense socio-political consequences and communal tensions,” said the teachers’ body.
The teachers’ body also condemned the “false misinformation” being spread by some individuals/groups about the removal of Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar from the philosophy syllabus.
“We firmly believe that this updated curriculum will offer a more comprehensive and inclusive educational experience, encouraging critical thinking, intellectual discourse, and a deeper understanding of the diverse perspectives that shape India,” said the NDTF in a statement released on Thursday.
‘Manipulated academics’
“Whether intentionally or unintentionally, history and political science books in post-Independent India and their writers have never tried to put all the historical facts in front of the readers as they were,” said the NDTF.
“India’s post-independent scholarship in history and political science has never allowed readers to appreciate diverse palimpsests of the evolution of the Indian subcontinent and make their own judgement about any political and historical events. It appears as if post-independent academics in these two areas from India, driven by their self-interest or manipulated by external actors, wanted to blindfold the generations to come with their own views, apprehensions and twisted sense of secularism. As a result, grave injustice has been done to many historical personalities who laid down their life for this country to help India break free from the clutches of British imperialism,” it added.
The NDTF further said that it was imperative that the university “acknowledges and take concrete measures to bring all such icons to the forefront so that they get their rightful place in Indian iconography and more so in the minds of the students and teachers so that they enrich themselves and society”.
‘Seed of secession’
Stating that historical figures who have been divisive and votary of the division of Bharat “need a ruthless critique” in order to gauge the depth to which the “seed of secession is sown in literature”, the NDTF claimed that Iqbal, who wrote ‘Sare Jahan Se Achha Hindustan Hamara…’, also talked about the Islamic Khilafat.
“As president of the Muslim League, Iqbal’s ideas were against democracy and Indian secularism. Many of Iqbal’s writings have been associated with the idea of a separate Muslim nation, ultimately leading to India’s partition. This concept of the Two-Nation Theory, played a significant role in the partition of India, resulting in immense socio-political consequences and communal tensions,” said the teachers’ body.
The teachers’ body also condemned the “false misinformation” being spread by some individuals/groups about the removal of Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar from the philosophy syllabus.
