No need to withdraw RSS idealogues' books: Kannur Varsity VC

Thiruvananthapuram: Kannur University Vice-Chancellor Dr Gopinath Ravindran said on Friday that there was no need to withdraw books of RSS ideologues from the newly started MA Public Administration, IANS reported.

Ravindran's statement, which happened along the lines of views expressed by the Students' Federation of India (SFI), surfaced while most Left-leaning quarters, except SFI, and Congress's student organisations are all up in arms against the inclusion of the books in the syllabus.

The newly introduced syllabus includes books by RSS ideologues like M.S. Golwalkar, Savarkar and Deendayal Upadhyaya, which are included in the third semester of the MA programme. However, the course also has books by Rabindranath Tagore, Gandhi, Nehru and others.

Ravindran said that the ideologies of those writers are practised by the party that rules the country, and students should know it. If one does not agree with something that should not be read or taught, that is 'Talibanisation', he said. He went through the curriculum and found no evidence of 'saffronisation', he added.

However, CPI Rajya Sabha member Binoy Viswan raised strong objections to the VC's response and asked all to unite against the curriculum.

The State Higher Education Minster R Bindhu told the media on Friday that the issue is sensitive and the ministry had sought an official statement of the university VC. After his response, they will decide what needs to be done, she said.

Students Union Chairman of Kannur University, MK Hassan, also from SFI, said that the said books are even taught in Jawaharlal Nehru University. Only if one reads and understands a particular text can one learn things and judge them, he said. He added that SFI is organising a deliberation, and all are invited to share their views.