The Delhi Minorities Commission on Tuesday sent a notice to the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s registrar asking why the university proposed to introduce a course on “Islamic terrorism”, PTI reported.
The commission’s Chairperson Zafarul Khan said they have asked for a copy of the proposal, and have sought details of the course, reference books and experts who will teach the subject. “Has the current administration of the JNU considered the implications of introducing this subject in the campus on its students and on the broader society outside?” Khan asked.
Last week, the JNU Academic Council gave in-principle approval to the course on Islamic terrorism to be taught at the soon-to-be-set-up Centre for National Security Studies. The proposal was drafted by a committee chaired by Ajay Kumar Dubey, a professor at the Centre for African Studies, according to PTI. However, Dubey has said that no such subject had been proposed to be introduced.
The minorities commission has also asked JNU to provide minutes of the Academic Council meeting, which approved the proposed course, and names of the members who attended it. The administration has to file its reply by June 5.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union has protested against introducing such a course. “This grotesque propaganda of Islamophobia in the name of academic courses is deeply problematic,” JNUSU President Geeta Kumari told PTI. “It seems the RSS-BJP’s election propaganda material will be prepared through these courses rather than studying the nature of terrorism in general.”
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