New Delhi, Amid a row over the proposal to teach Manusmriti to law students of Delhi University, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday said there is no question of including any controversial part of any script in the curriculum.
While he pointed out that Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh had rejected the proposal to teach Manusmriti to law students on Thursday itself, Pradhan said the government is committed to upholding the true spirit of the Constitution.
"Yesterday, information reached us that Manusmriti will be part of the Law Faculty course (at DU). I inquired and spoke to the vice-chancellor of Delhi University. He assured me that some members of the law faculty have proposed some changes in the jurisprudence chapter". Pradhan told reporters in Hyderabad.
"There is no support for any proposal of this type in the Academic Council. Just yesterday, the Vice-Chancellor rejected that proposal. We are all committed to our Constitution, with a futuristic approach. The Government is committed to defending the true spirit and letter of the Constitution. It is not about including any controversial part of any script," he stated.
A proposal to teach Manusmriti (Laws of Manu) to LLB students of Delhi University was scheduled to be discussed at a meeting of its Academic Council on Friday, a move that drew criticism from a section of teachers.
The Law Faculty had sought approval from the highest decision-making body of the University of Delhi (DU) to revise the syllabus of its first and third year students to teach them Manusmriti.
The changes to the jurisprudence work syllabus concerned semesters one and six of the LLB.
Based on the reviews, it was proposed to introduce students to two readings on Manusmriti: Manusmriti with Medhatithi's Manubhasya by G N Jha and Manu Smriti's Commentary - Smritichandrika by T Kristnasawmi Iyer.
The university president clarified Thursday that the suggestions were rejected and that students will not be shown the manuscript.
"A proposal was submitted from the Faculty of Law to the University of Delhi. In the proposal, they had suggested changes in the document titled Jurisprudence. One of the changes was to include readings on Manusmriti. We have rejected both the suggested readings and the proposed amendments. by the College, nothing of this kind will be taught to the students," Singh had said in a video message shared by the varsity.
While he pointed out that Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh had rejected the proposal to teach Manusmriti to law students on Thursday itself, Pradhan said the government is committed to upholding the true spirit of the Constitution.
"Yesterday, information reached us that Manusmriti will be part of the Law Faculty course (at DU). I inquired and spoke to the vice-chancellor of Delhi University. He assured me that some members of the law faculty have proposed some changes in the jurisprudence chapter". Pradhan told reporters in Hyderabad.
"There is no support for any proposal of this type in the Academic Council. Just yesterday, the Vice-Chancellor rejected that proposal. We are all committed to our Constitution, with a futuristic approach. The Government is committed to defending the true spirit and letter of the Constitution. It is not about including any controversial part of any script," he stated.
A proposal to teach Manusmriti (Laws of Manu) to LLB students of Delhi University was scheduled to be discussed at a meeting of its Academic Council on Friday, a move that drew criticism from a section of teachers.
The Law Faculty had sought approval from the highest decision-making body of the University of Delhi (DU) to revise the syllabus of its first and third year students to teach them Manusmriti.
The changes to the jurisprudence work syllabus concerned semesters one and six of the LLB.
Based on the reviews, it was proposed to introduce students to two readings on Manusmriti: Manusmriti with Medhatithi's Manubhasya by G N Jha and Manu Smriti's Commentary - Smritichandrika by T Kristnasawmi Iyer.
The university president clarified Thursday that the suggestions were rejected and that students will not be shown the manuscript.
"A proposal was submitted from the Faculty of Law to the University of Delhi. In the proposal, they had suggested changes in the document titled Jurisprudence. One of the changes was to include readings on Manusmriti. We have rejected both the suggested readings and the proposed amendments. by the College, nothing of this kind will be taught to the students," Singh had said in a video message shared by the varsity.
