Attempt to link AMU, Jamia with terrorism must be resisted: 252 academics issue statement against MP's query

A group of 252 academics and scholars who are or have been affiliated with Indian institutions of higher education have issued a statement condemning BJP Rajya Sabha MP Harnath Singh Yadav's query on Indian universities such as Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia incorporating a "book by a Pakistani author" in their curriculum.

Yadav posed a question on the validity of the unnamed book by an unnanmed Pakistani authors and sought an answer from the Education Ministry in Parliament as to whether it "supports terrorism" and is "derogatory to Indian citizens".

Yadav asked in the Rajya Sabha: "Has the central government taken cognisance of the fact that a book by Pakistani author (sic) is being taught at Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia or any other educational institution in the country and the language is derogatory to Indian citizens and also supports terrorism".

In the question, Yadav has also sought to know "whether the government would consider to scrutinise the contents of textbooks written by the said Pakistani author and take action against the persons responsible for the same".

The same question was later formulated into a University Grants Commission (UGC) statement which was sent to the registrars of all central universities on March 16, requesting them to produce information on the question.

The 252-authored statement titled 'A Statement Regarding A Rajya Sabha Question About 'Pakistani Author's Book' raises concerns about the language and framing of the UGC statement and the possibility of the question affecting censorship of educational texts.

The signatories include prominent historian and academic Romila Thapar, professor emerita with JNU; Satish Deshpande, Nandini Sundar, Abha Dev Habib and Apoorvanand from Delhi University; Sukanta Chaudhuri, professor emeritus with Jadavpur University; Lakshmi Subramanian and Partha Chatterjee, honorary professors with the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta; JNU professor Ayesha Kidwai; Kerala Council for Historical Research director G. Arunima; history professor Mridu Rai from Presidency University; and Simona Sawhney from IIT Delhi among several others.

Read the full statement below:

"We write as concerned teachers and scholars who are or have been affiliated with Indian institutions of higher education. This statement is with reference to a letter sent by the University Grants Commission to the Registrar, All Central Universities, on March 16, 2023 regarding a Parliament Question," reads the statement.

The signatories highlight that the UGC statement demanding academics and educational authorities to answer "whether the book contained language that was derogatory to Indian citizens and whether it supported terrorism" is "extremely alarming" and a "punitive threat" since professors usually don't decide the texts to be included in the curriculum.

"It is more often the case that syllabi are made, especially in the humanities and the social sciences, to expose students to varied historical and cultural perspectives," the statement read.

The statement highlights that Yadav's question generalises all books written by Pakistani authors as "derogatary" by leaving out the name of the particular book in this case. The signatories claim that this is yet another attack on Muslim universities such as Jamia Milia or AMU.

"Leaving the book unnamed allows the question to be read as suggesting that any book by any Pakistani author might possibly be read as being "derogatory to Indian citizens" and "supporting terrorism" -- Attempts to continually link central universities with identifiably Muslim associations, such as Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia, with "terrorism" must be resisted in every possible way," reads the statement. 

"Not doing so will only endanger our own lives, the lives of our children, and, perhaps more importantly, the very possibility of a future world in which difference and equality may coexist," the statement adds.

"Our role as teachers is precisely to encourage students to discuss, question and learn about these perspectives, not to endorse or follow them uncritically," the signatories assert.

Yadav's question was listed for hearing in the Rajya Sabha for Wednesday, March 22, however, a holiday has now been declared on the day on account of several festivals.