SRINAGAR: A day after a University of Jammu (JU) committee reportedly recommended removing topics on Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Muhammad Iqbal from the MA Political Science syllabus, a political row erupted on Tuesday, with leaders across parties, including the BJP, questioning the move.
The controversy follows protests last week by activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Jammu, who demanded the removal of a chapter on Jinnah from the “Modern Indian Political Thought” module under the paper “Minorities and the Nation.” Protesters raised slogans against university authorities, tore posters of Jinnah and warned of intensifying agitation if the content was not withdrawn.
Subsequently, Vice Chancellor Umesh Rai constituted a committee to examine the syllabus. According to reports cited by the Chandigarh-based newspaper The Tribune, the panel has recommended dropping references to Jinnah, Iqbal and Sir Syed Ahmad Khan from the postgraduate curriculum.
Reacting sharply, Jammu and Kashmir Minister Javed Ahmed Rana termed the recommendation “a laughable, anti-scholarly act of intellectual vandalism.”
“By erasing these foundational figures of political thought, the University of Jammu is transitioning from a site of critical pedagogy into a propaganda apparatus for RSS supremacism. This is a deliberate attempt to manufacture ideological bigots rather than nurturing inquisitive citizens,” Rana said, adding that the university should promote “dialectical inquiry and intellectual pluralism.”
In a significant development, BJP leader Jahanzaib Sirwal has also opposed the proposed removal, writing to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan seeking intervention.
“I have formally appealed to the Union Minister of Education regarding the University of Jammu’s recommendation… Erasing figures who shaped modern Indian thought reflects a narrow and selective approach to academia,” Sirwal said in a social media post.
Highlighting their contributions, Sirwal noted that Sir Syed Ahmad Khan laid the foundation of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, later Aligarh Muslim University, while Iqbal’s philosophical ideas and his patriotic verse “Saare Jahan Se Achha” remain integral to India’s intellectual and cultural heritage.
“At a crucial time for social cohesion in JK, such decisions risk distorting history rather than strengthening it. Education must reflect the full spectrum of our intellectual heritage, not curated exclusion,” he added.
Meanwhile, JU authorities maintained that a formal review process is underway. An official order states that a committee headed by Prof Naresh Padha, with heads of Philosophy, History, and Sociology departments, and the Director of Strategic and Regional Studies, has been tasked with examining the issue and submitting its report as soon as possible.
Earlier, Political Science HoD Baljit Singh Mann had defended the syllabus, stating that the inclusion of Jinnah and other thinkers was purely academic and aligned with curricula followed by universities across the country and UGC norms.
The issue has since triggered demonstrations and counter-claims, placing the university’s curriculum review under intense political and academic scrutiny.
