DU’s political science dept reinstates paper on Gandhi in semester 4

The chronology earlier suggested by the department was that papers on Savarkar, Ambedkar and Gandhi be taught in semesters V, VI, VII respectively. It has now changed to Gandhi and Ambedkar to be taught in semesters IV and V and Savarkar to be taught in the sixth semester.

AC member Alok Ranjan Pandey said: “Our demand was based on the exit mode that most students might choose after the sixth semester and might not have the opportunity to study Gandhi if it is placed in the seventh semester. After a lot of deliberation, we reached a conclusion in the Academic Council to reinstate the paper on Gandhi in the fourth semester. The same has also been approved by the Executive Council (EC).”

The suggestion to move the paper to semester VII was part of the curriculum review being undertaken by the department based on the National Education Policy.

The final revised syllabus for semesters IV, V and VI was approved by the AC, the apex decision-making body on academic matters, on May 26 and ratified by the EC on June 9.

The final minutes of the EC meeting states: “The council resolved that the following re-arrangements in DSE papers to be offered in BA (Hons)/BA (Prog) be made in the syllabus of Political Science : (i) Paper titled ‘Gandhi and the contemporary world’ shall be in Semester-IV; (ii) Paper titled ‘Understanding Ambedkar’ shall be in Semester-V; (iii) Paper titled ‘Understanding Savarkar’ shall be in Semester-VI.”

A professor from the Political Science department, on condition of anonymity, said: “The department had earlier removed the paper on Gandhi from semester IV and replaced it with ‘Citizenship in a Globalising World’ as part of the pool of discipline-specific electives, and had said Gandhi would be reintroduced in semester VII. ‘Understanding Savarkar’ was listed as part of the fifth semester followed by the paper on Ambedkar in semester VI… Many members in the AC had debated on this chronology and, hence, the matter came back to the department’s committee of courses, which decided to reinstate the paper on Gandhi in the fourth semester.”