Delhi University panel to take call on adding Savarkar in syllabus

The Delhi University’s Executive Council (EC) is scheduled to meet on June 9 to take decisions on a number of proposals for curriculum changes, teachers aware of the matter said on Thursday. These changes include the addition of VD Savarkar’s philosophy in the fifth semester of BA (Political Science) course, and removing poet Muhammad Iqbal from the syllabus.

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Both changes were approved by the DU’s academic council on May 28, and must be ratified by the EC.

The EC meeting will also finalise the introduction of several new undergraduate courses, including a course on the University of Delhi Innovation and Startup Policy, three new BTech programmes for the academic session 2023-24 — computer science and engineering, electronics and communication engineering, and electrical engineering — along with the new Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) course and two new five-year LLB courses.

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On Wednesday, 123 retired government officials, including retired high court judges, former bureaucrats, and retired ambassadors, had issued a statement in support of the DU academic council decision to introduce Savarkar in the political science curriculum. “History as written in texts and taught in any country should truthfully reveal the facts and be interpreted impartially and without any bias,” the statement said.