New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday that no central university has reported teaching any book by a Pakistani author.
He made this statement in a written reply to a Question Harnath Singh Yadav, BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha.
The question was made to know whether the Central Government had “taken cognizance of the fact that a book by a Pakistani author (sic) is being taught in Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia or any other educational institution in the country and the language It’s humiliating.” Indian citizens also support terrorism”.
On March 16, the University Grants Commission (UGC) wrote to the registrars of all central universities, requesting them to provide information on the question raised by Yadav.
In his reply, Pradhan said, “The data relating to books recommended by the Board of Studies of the departments of these universities/institutes is not maintained centrally. However, none of the central universities have reported that any book by a Pakistani author Is going.
CCentral universities, he said, are autonomous institutions and established by an Act of Parliament, and have their own departments with course development committees that suggest books for study.
The Minister said, “…they are governed by their own set of rules such as statutes and ordinances made under their respective Acts… In the library of these universities/institutes, the Board of Studies of the departments distributes the books to the university. Recommend a list of librarians for purchase.
Yadav’s question was led Over 250 academics and scholars associated with Indian institutions of higher learning – including Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi University (DU), and IITs – to issue a statement criticizing its nature and language.
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what the academics said
In the statement, academicians and scholars argued that “Leaving the book unnamed could read the question as suggesting that any book by any Pakistani author could possibly be read as ‘derogatory to Indian citizens’ and ‘endorsing terrorism’ Is.”
He said that “attempts to consistently link central universities with ‘terrorism’ by recognized Muslim associations like Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia must be opposed in every possible way”.
“Not doing so will only jeopardize our own lives, the lives of our children and, perhaps more importantly, the very possibility of a future world in which difference and equality can co-exist,” the statement said.
The signatories include Romila Thapar, Professor Emerita at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Nandita Narayan of St Stephen’s College, Partha Chatterjee, Professor Emeritus at the Center for Social Science Studies, Kolkata, Professor Apoorvanand of Delhi University and Professor Ayesha Kidwai of JNU.
Other signatories included academicians from institutions such as IIT-Delhi, IIT-Bombay, University of Hyderabad, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Azim Premji University, Jamia Millia Islamia, University of Mumbai and Pondicherry University.
(Editing by Sunanda Ranjan)
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