NEW DELHI: A Standing Committee meeting of Delhi University held to review postgraduate syllabi across multiple departments on Wednesday kicked off a debate after several courses were either altered or dropped altogether, prompting concerns about academic freedom and the narrowing of pedagogical scope.
While scrutinising the Geography syllabus, the committee recommended the removal of Unit 3—“Internal Conflicts and Problems of Nation Building”—from the Discipline Specific Elective (DSE) course Territorial Bases of Politics in India (Semester 1). The Social Geography DSE course (Semester 2) also faced objections, with the Chair advising caste-related topics, particularly the unit on “Distribution of SC Population,” be de-emphasised, calling them “controversial.” The DSE course on Vulnerability and Disaster was scrapped entirely.
In Urban Sociology, violence-focused units were flagged for removal—including work on Muharram processions in Mumbai, caste and nationalism in Chennai, and Dalit religion and resistance.
The most sweeping changes took place in Political Science department, where multiple DSE courses were dropped outright, including Pakistan and the World; China’s Role in the Contemporary World; Islam and International Relations; Pakistan: State and Society and lastly, Religious Nationalism and Political Violence.
Readings by scholars such as Blom Hansen and studies on Buddhist monastic politics in Sri Lanka were also removed.
Several committee members, including Monami Sinha, a member of the Academic Council, opposed the move. “It is imperative to study Pakistan and China. These are critical players in India’s foreign policy landscape,” she said.
Revised drafts will be presented at the next committee meeting on July 1.