DU may scrap MA courses about Hindu nationalism, RSS, international affairs; faculty criticises move

Delhi University: The University of Delhi's (DU) revised master of arts (MA) political science syllabus has been rejected by the standing committee, according to the reports. The new syllabus for the 2025-26 academic year was approved by the DU Academic Council (AC) and Executive Council (EC), but the standing committee asked to drop several courses from the syllabus, which discussed Hindu nationalism, religious politics, and international affairs in China and Pakistan.

In a paper titled “DSE 14: Identities and Political Transformation in India”, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its ideology faces criticism, along with the currently-ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The paper includes readings of the French scholar Christopher Jafferlot, which received objections from some committee members, as per the Maktoob Media reports.

The DU MA political science syllabus included a paper titled “DSE 17: Politics and Ethnic Conflicts in Jammu and Kashmir”. The paper talked about “state autonomy, self-determination, secessionist politics and factors of terrorism”, and was asked to be dropped because of topics like “Indian national identity, Hindu nationalism and politics of anxiety”.

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DU: MA political science syllabus revision

DU MA political science 2025 syllabus also included a paper titled “DSE 51: Religious Nationalism and Political Violence”, that examined using religious mobilisation for political gain. According to the Maktoob Media report, the objectives of the course aims to equip students with the knowledge of how “religion becomes a political resource for mobilisation and contestation in different contexts, especially in multi-religious societies”.

The Delhi University syllabus change also saw another paper being dropped - “DSE 63: Discourses on Hindu Nationalism”. It includes readings from Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s text “Essentials of Hindutva”, which is regarded as a controversial subject matter.

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Courses on international affairs asked to be scrapped

Several other courses on international affairs were also asked to be scrapped from the DU MA political science syllabus. These include “Pakistan and The World”, “China’s Role In The Contemporary World”, and “Islam and International Relations”.

According to the reports, Monami Sinha the member of the standing committee, criticised the revision of the DU PG syllabus. “It is imperative to study Pakistan in detail because we need to train our students on Pakistan as it remains one of India’s foreign policy challenges.”