DU History syllabus tweak: ‘Brahmanisation’ term dropped, paper on inequality withdrawn

“According to the university, these changes in the syllabus should occur every three years. The purpose is to ensure that what is being taught is holistic, inclusive, representative, and not ideologically loaded,” he said.

History professor and Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences, Seema Bawa, did not comment on the changes.

Identified by The Indian Express and confirmed by professors, some of the most glaring differences between the old and the new History syllabus for the fourth and the fifth semesters are:

👉🏼 ‘Brahmanisation’ removed

The generic elective (or GE) titled ‘Religion and Religiosity’ in the fourth semester (which has been renamed ‘Religious Traditions in the Indian Subcontinent’) included a component called ‘Approaches to Brahmanisation in the early medieval era.’ However, only the term ‘Brahmanisation’ in the sub-title has now been replaced with ‘shaiva,’ ‘shakta,’ and ‘vaishnava.’ The component’s title now reads ‘Approaches to Shaiva, Shakta, and Vaishnava in the early medieval era.’

Similarly, the term ‘Brahmanical’ has been dropped from the title of a unit under the fifth semester paper ‘Women in Indian History.’ The unit was earlier named ‘Evolution of Patriarchy with focus on Brahmanical Patriarchy’ and it now reads ‘Evolution of Patriarchy in Early India.’

A GE is an interdisciplinary course offered to students pursuing BA (Honours), BA Programme, BCom (Honours), as well as BSc (Honours). Students have to compulsorily opt for GEs from a pool of courses. The above mentioned GEs are among those offered by the History department.

Explaining the rationale behind this change, a teacher from the History department, who refused to be identified, said: “The terms (‘Brahmanisation’ and ‘Brahmanical’) were not something they (the university) wanted. They feel that these are not terms one can use in historiographical research. So it has been changed to make it more descriptive.”

However, some DU professors have expressed concern over the changes.

“Academicians backed by the ruling regime have clearly taken it upon themselves to reproduce a world view which requires complete subservience and uncritical adherence to certain dogmatic understandings of the social system and a glorified notion of India’s ancient past. As a consequence, they have sought to remove terminology like Brahmanisation from the concerned History paper as the term points to oppressive caste hierarchy and the domination of Brahmins,” said Maya John, an assistant professor with Jesus and Mary College.

👉🏼 Inequality and Difference
A GE titled ‘Inequality and Difference’, which was being taught for over five years in the fourth semester, has been dropped. This paper dealt with varna, jati, class, caste, gender and their continuities and changes across time. “It also critically engages with political mobilisation which takes place on the basis of questions of social justice and inequalities in an era of democratic politics,” the old syllabus document states.

This change, The Indian Express has learned, was opposed by department teachers in the meeting of the Standing Committee on Academic Matters in May. However, the removal of the paper was passed by the AC on May 26.

👉🏼 Matriarchal perspective included
Under the GE ‘Women in Indian History,’ new perspectives on matriarchy have been introduced in the units that originally focused on patriarchy.

According to another History professor, who also refused to be identified, “The rationale behind this was to acknowledge that there are other forms besides patriarchy that exist. Therefore, we agreed to include matriarchy as well.”

Similar changes have been introduced in the Discipline Specific Elective (or DSE) titled ‘Gender in Indian History up to 1500 CE’ in the fifth semester.

A DSE is an elective offered to students of BA (Honours) History. Under the above discipline-specific elective, a unit which earlier had content on ‘Understanding origins and structures of patriarchy’ has now been revised to ‘Understanding structures of patriarchy, patrilocality patriliny and matriarchy, matrilocality and matriliny’

According to Ratna Bali, Dean of Academic Activities, the idea behind the changes was to offer students “multiple perspectives”. Bali was a special invitee at the AC meeting on May 26 which approved the changed syllabus.

“Students should not be exposed to only one perspective. Indian societies also have matriarchal and matrilineal systems. The idea is to provide students with multiple perspectives. This understanding is unanimous in both the Standing Committee and the Academic Council, as we believe in giving students choices,” Bali said.

👉🏼 Other changes

Among other changes, a Skill Enhancement Course titled ‘Indian Art and Architecture’ has been dropped from the fourth semester. It introduced students to how Indian Art is perceived in the West and discussed various religious sites such as Jama Masjid, Humayun’s tomb, stupa and monastery architecture, Brihadeshwara and Khajuraho temple complex, besides other structures.

According to History teachers, the paper was dropped on the grounds that it didn’t fit the definition of a ‘skill course’.