University Teachers, Eminent Scholars Decry Rajya Sabha Question on 'Pakistani Author's Book'

New Delhi: Over 250 university teachers and eminent scholars of the country objected to a question raised in Rajya Sabha on March 22, 2023, regarding a “Pakistani author’s book prescribed at an educational institution in the country”.

A joint statement condemning such “censorship” has been issued by teachers and scholars. Those included in the list of signatories are eminent historian Romila Thapar, Professor Satish Deshpande, Professor Apoorvanand, Professor Ayesha Kidwai, Professor Nandini Sundar, Professor Partha Chatterjee, Professor Zoya Hasan, among others.

“Education should teach students to engage with whatever appears as “insulting” or “derogatory” and respond to it with verbal argumentation, rather than refusing to hear it, or worse, considering it a crime to be met with threats of censorship and violence,” the signatories of the statement said.

The question under focus was asked by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP, Harinath Singh Yadav, and came up in the Rajya Sabha on March 22, 2023. “Whether Government has taken cognizance of the fact that a book by Pakistani author is being taught at Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia or any other educational institution in the country and the language is derogatory to Indian citizens and also supports terrorism; if so, the details thereof, and whether Government should consider to scrutinize the contents of textbooks written by the said Pakistani author and take action against the persons responsible for the same? (sic),” the question read.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) on March 16 had sent out a letter to university registrars and central universities seeking information on the question that was to be answered in the Rajya Sabha.

The joint statement observed that the question was “deliberately ambiguous” without mentioning the specifics about the author and book. “Surely this is not simply an error? For leaving the book unnamed allows the question to be read as suggesting that any book by any Pakistani author that might possibly be read as being ‘derogatory to Indian citizens’ and ‘supporting terrorism’ must not be taught in any Indian university; that teaching any such book will result in punitive action and perhaps criminal charges being lodged against teachers,” the statement said.

The signatories said such “punitive threats” prevent discussion or dialogue regarding textbooks chosen for particular courses. “It assumes that a teacher who assigns a reading must agree with all the arguments of the assigned text. But teachers do not present texts—especially works of fiction or even historical accounts – as if they were gospel truth. It is more often the case that syllabi are made, especially in the Humanities and the Social Sciences, to expose students to varied historical and cultural perspectives. Our role as teachers is precisely to encourage students to discuss, question and learn about these perspectives, not to endorse or follow them uncritically.”

The statement further goes on to say, “The government can best fulfil its constitutional mandate and create democratic spaces by fostering the autonomy of educational institutions, empowering faculty, and encouraging debate, critical thought, and discussion on all possible topics. This is best served by exposing students to as wide-ranging a set of resources as possible, including books, articles, and films. Neither the national origin nor the views expressed in such texts should become reasons for excluding them.”

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Reproduced below is the full statement and the list of signatories:

A statement regarding a Rajya Sabha question about ‘Pakistani author’s book’ 

We write as concerned teachers and scholars who are or have been affiliated with Indian institutions of higher education.  This statement is with reference to a letter sent by the University Grants Commission to the Registrar, All Central Universities, on March 16, 2023 regarding a Parliament Question. The “Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 227 to be answered on 22.03.2023 regarding ‘Pakistani Author’s Book Prescribed at Educational Institution in the Country’” asks “Whether Government has taken cognizance of the fact that a book by Pakistani author is being taught at Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia or any other educational institution in the country and the language is derogatory to Indian citizens and also supports terrorism; if so, the details thereof, and whether Government should consider to scrutinize the contents of textbooks written by the said Pakistani author and take action against the persons responsible for the same?” Educational institutions are directed to furnish this information to the UGC.

The question is alarming for several reasons:

1) The language of the question can only be read as being deliberately ambiguous. While it appears that a specific book by a specific author is the subject of the question, neither the author nor the book is named. Surely this is not simply an error? For leaving the book unnamed allows the question to be read as suggesting that any book by any Pakistani author that might possibly be read as being “derogatory to Indian citizens” and “supporting terrorism” must not be taught in any Indian university; that teaching any such book will result in punitive action and perhaps criminal charges being lodged against teachers. The letter from the UGC has the subject line “Pakistani Author’s Book Prescribed at Educational Institution in the Country,” which turns the parliament question into a pretext to collect information on and place under suspicion all books by Pakistani writers discussed in Indian universities.

2) The punitive threat mentioned at the end of the note seems to foreclose any possibility of discussion or dialogue regarding textbooks chosen for particular courses. It assumes that a teacher who assigns a reading must agree with all the arguments of the assigned text. But teachers do not present texts—especially works of fiction or even historical accounts—as if they were gospel truth. It is more often the case that syllabi are made, especially in the Humanities and the Social Sciences, to expose students to varied historical and cultural perspectives. Our role as teachers is precisely to encourage students to discuss, question and learn about these perspectives, not to endorse or follow them uncritically.

3) Whether in the sciences or the humanities, scholarship has always been a site of contestation, argument and criticism. Our cultural and historical texts are filled with images and references that might well be perceived as derogatory by various groups (for example, by Dalits, women, the disabled, people of different religions or regions, and so on), yet we cannot, on that account, stop teaching all such texts. On the contrary, such images must be openly and critically discussed in the classroom, if only to think about them more seriously and hence avoid their habitual replication.

4) Keeping all this in mind, our position, broadly stated, is as follows:

(i) Education should teach students to engage with whatever appears as “insulting” or “derogatory” and respond to it with verbal argumentation, rather than refusing to hear it, or worse, considering it a crime to be met with threats of censorship and violence.

(ii) Any remark that is perceived by the listener as insulting or disparaging does not necessarily constitute “terrorism.” Making such connections automatically is precisely the kind of thoughtlessness that education tries to undo. In fact, any education worth the name must teach students to be constantly attentive to the specificity of concepts, ideas, and actions.

(iii) The government can best fulfil its constitutional mandate and create democratic spaces by fostering the autonomy of educational institutions, empowering faculty, and encouraging debate, critical thought, and discussion on all possible topics. This is best served by exposing students to as wide ranging a set of resources as possible, including books, articles and films. Neither national origin nor the views expressed in such texts should become reasons for excluding them.

(iv) Attempts to continually link central universities with identifiably Muslim associations, such as Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia, with “terrorism,” must be resisted in every possible way. Not doing so will only endanger our own lives, the lives of our children, and, perhaps more importantly, the very possibility of a future world in which difference and equality may coexist.

We truly hope that Rajya Sabha members and everyone who understands the critical role of education in the future of a country will take some time to think about the issues we have raised above. The matter comes up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha on 22.3.2023.

Sincerely,

Romila Thapar, Professor Emerita, JNU
Nandita Narain, St. Stephen’s College
Satish Deshpande, University of Delhi
Apoorvanand, Professor, Delhi University
Ayesha Kidwai, Professor, JNU
G. Arunima, Director, Kerala Council for Historical Research, Trivandrum
Ira Raja, Professor, Delhi University
Janaki Nair, Former Professor, JNU
Kumkum Roy, Former Professor, JNU
Lakshmi Subramanian, Honorary Professor, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
Mary E. John, Former Professor, Center for Women’s Development Studies
Mridu Rai, Professor, Presidency University, Kolkata
Nandini Sundar, Professor, Delhi University
Partha Chatterjee, Honorary Professor, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
Abha Dev Habib, Miranda House, University of Delhi
Simona Sawhney, Associate Professor, IIT-Delhi
Sukanta Chaudhuri, Professor Emeritus, Jadavpur University
Sumit Sarkar, Former Professor, Delhi University
Supriya Chaudhuri, Professor Emerita, Jadavpur University
Tanika Sarkar, Former Professor, JNU
Udaya Kumar, Professor, JNU
Zoya Hasan, Professor Emerita, JNU