Delhi University panel suggests more syllabi tweaks

Delhi University’s (DU) standing committee for academic affairs on Thursday recommended replacing Islamic poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and medieval traveller Ibn Battuta with Mughal prince Dara Shukoh in the History department’s eighth semester syllabus.

According to a committee member, the changes were proposed in a general elective paper, “Life Narrative and History”, which includes key political figures. Originally, the course featured Harsha, Battuta, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Iqbal.

This was the third and final meeting of the committee reviewing seventh and eighth semester syllabi ahead of the first graduating batch under the four-year undergraduate programme. Committee members said the revisions align with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 framework.

Other changes reportedly include dropping the elective paper “Cultural Transactions between India and the World”, and adding Dr BR Ambedkar alongside Karl Marx in the paper “History of Labour in Colonial and Postcolonial India”.

In political science, “Hind Swaraj” was suggested as a new reading, while the topic of sexual division of labour and unpaid work may be removed from the paper “Feminism: Theory and Practice”, according to the committee member. The commerce department may see the removal of topics like social media marketing, rural development, and personal financial planning.

Some faculty expressed concern over the scope of these revisions. “The standing committee is meant to review—not restructure—department syllabi,” said Rajesh Jha, former executive council member. The final decision will rest with the academic council, which meets Saturday.