He opposed DU’s move to drop his books and wrote that RSS’ fascism was apparent in the recommendation by the standing committee
New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi wrote to Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, expressing solidarity against the “majoritarian move” of the Delhi University’s standing committee’s recommendation to remove three of his books from the reading list of the post-graduate political science course.
In a letter addressed to Prof. Ilaiah dated October 26, which he received on Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi wrote that RSS’ fascism was apparent in the recommendation.
In the letter, Rahul Gandhi said, “The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) fascism is apparent in this move. Their aggressive move to propagate a unilateral view of Hinduism is deplorable. The fact is, that your books have been a part of the university’s syllabus for over a decade, without any questions being raised on their impact on the minds of the students. Now the RSS, which cannot boast of any intellectual or academic capital, is seeking to destroy academic integrity by silencing diverse voices. This is part of their larger design to keep the Shudras and Dalits disempowered.”
The Congress president hoped that the university’s academic council would reject the standing committee’s recommendation. He added that students should be able to read “divergent views and form their own opinions instead of following the line of the RSS.”
The titles recommended for removal are Why I am not a Hindu, Post-Hindu India and God as Political Philosopher: Buddha’s Challenge to Brahminism. Prof. Ilaiah expressed happiness over the support that he received by a national party.
DU’s Standing Committee on Academic Matters recommended this move on Oct 24 and said that they found the content insulting to Hinduism. The decision has to be approved by the Academic Council and a meeting will be held before November 15. It also recommended discontinuing the use of the word ‘Dalit’ in academic discourse.
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