Student Struggle Editorial Team
The Central Executive Committee of Students’ Federation of India (SFI) opposed UGC’s move to distort history by pushing the Hindutva narrations in academic spaces. This came in light of the recent UGC letter which suggests all universities to hold lectures on the historical background of Indian democracy. Although the memo has not been made public, various media sources and the UGC Chairperson’s utterances imply that its themes include the glorification of anti-women antiquity.
Read the full statement here:
The UGC has requested 45 Central and 45 Deemed to be Universities to commemorate Constitution Day by delivering lectures on “India: Mother of Democracy ”. The letter suggests all universities to hold lectures on the historical background of Indian democracy. Although the memo has not been made public, various media sources and the UGC Chairperson’s utterances imply that its themes include the glorification of anti-women antiquity. The UGC like many other Central Government institutions have been trying to push the Hindutva agenda within the higher educational institutions and has been working as an agent of the RSS. The list of fifteen themes proposed by UGC includes “concept of the ‘ideal king (rajarsi or seer king or philosopher king)’ according to Kautilya as well as Bhagavad Gita, India’s ‘loktantra’ (self-governance), Harappans as the pioneering architect of the democratic system in the world, as well as anti-women practices such as khap panchayats.
The UGC has asked universities to celebrate such anti-women, anti-secular themes on Constitution Day reeks of cruel irony. The peoples struggle for liberation has a long history in India. Instead of highlighting these struggles, any attempts to show a past of Brahminism and monarchy as some glorious history is anachronistic and an attempt at ‘saffronising’ the country’s national identity. Such distortions of our past have to be fought tooth and nail.
The Students Federation of India opposes the attempt of UGC to push hindutva agenda into our educational institutions. We demand the immediate withdrawal of the above-mentioned letter. Any attempts to show a homogeneous Indian past has to be resisted by the students, teachers, and youth of our country. Institutions like Khap panchayats, against which the women of this country have waged protracted struggles, should not be glorified. We request all to unite under the banner of constitutional values and democratic ethos to resist such attempts by RSS backed central government institutions.
Released by
VP Sanu, President
Mayukh Biswas, General Secretary