Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has said universities and classrooms are marketplaces for conflicting ideas and varied schools of thought. Students should be exposed to every aspect of learning.
The Governor said here on Saturday that he was not in a position to comment on the developments in Kannur University. But generally, limiting the scope of the study was not advisable. “They teach Karl Marx in foreign university even when those nations do not adhere to Marxism.”
“Charvaka rubbished everything Indians held sacred. However, nobody threw a stone at him. Instead, ancient India revered the philosopher as Mahatma Charvaka. His thought is one of the five prominent streams of Indian philosophy,” he said.
Panel formed
Meanwhile, Kannur University constituted a two-member committee to examine the syllabus for the third semester of MA Governance and Politics programme after the inclusion of writings by Hindutva ideologues stirred widespread protests. Vice Chancellor Gopinath Ravindran said the committee comprising former Professor of Kerala University J. Prabhash and former Professor of Calicut University K.S. Pavithran would submit a report within five days.
Mr. Ravindran said there was nothing wrong in including the writings of Hindutva ideologues such as M.S. Golwalkar and V.D. Savarkar in the syllabus. A student had to read the texts and the syllabus aimed to help develop a critical understanding of the topics.
Mr. Ravindran said he submitted a report to the Higher Education Minister that the writings of the Hindutva ideologues had been included to enable students to develop a critical understanding about various strands of Indian political thought. He denied the allegation of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K. Sudhakaran that the writings of the Hindu ideologues had been included with the knowledge of the Minister, CPI (M), and syndicate members. The Vice Chancellor said there was deficiency in the syllabus in structure and content. But he reiterated that there was no attempted saffronisation.
(With inputs from Kannur bureau)
