Jammu University panel proposes removal of Jinnah, Sir Syed, Iqbal from syllabus

Jammu: A committee set up by the University of Jammu to review the syllabus of MA political science has recommended the removal of topics related to former Pakistan president Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Mohammad Iqbal from the course content. The decision follows protests by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which on Friday staged demonstrations demanding the withdrawal of a chapter on Pakistan's founder Jinnah.

The chapter was included in the revised postgraduate syllabus under the National Education Policy 2020. Head of the department (HoD) Prof Baljit Singh Mann said a meeting of the faculty and departmental affairs committee was held on March 22, and they have unanimously resolved to recommend the removal of topics concerning Jinnah, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Mohammad Iqbal from the course content of the one-year postgraduate programme and the two-year postgraduate programme.

The recommendation has been forwarded to the Board of Studies (BoS) for consideration. The BoS is scheduled to meet online on March 24 to further deliberate on the matter, Mann added. Earlier, the university had defended the syllabus, stating that the inclusion of Jinnah and other thinkers was purely academic and in line with University Grants Commission guidelines .

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The module on "modern Indian political thought" includes a wide range of thinkers representing diverse ideological perspectives, such as Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Mohammad Iqbal, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, M S Golwalkar, Mahatma Gandhi, B R Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Mann had said.

He clarified that the syllabus was designed to present multiple viewpoints, adding that several of these figures held nationalist positions during different phases of their lives, making their study important for historical understanding.

ABVP Jammu and Kashmir secretary Sannak Shrivats had earlier demanded immediate withdrawal of the chapter, stating that teaching figures associated with partition and the two-nation theory was unacceptable to students. He warned of intensified protests if the syllabus was not revised and urged that personalities who worked positively for minorities be included instead.