The new Postgraduate Curriculum Framework’s changes to the MA program syllabus align with the Undergraduate Curriculum Framework, which will take effect in July.
For first-year postgraduate students, the Political Science department at Delhi University has suggested an elective subject called “Reading Bhagavad Gita.” It will be discussed at the Standing Committee on Academic Affairs’ next meeting on July 1. If accepted, the proposal to add it to the curriculum would be discussed at the Academic Council meeting on July 5, which is the highest decision-making body for syllabus modifications.
The new Postgraduate Curriculum Framework’s changes to the MA program syllabus align with the Undergraduate Curriculum Framework, which will take effect in July.
The “course objective” states that the goal is to impart the “universal teachings and socio-ethical relevance in modern times” found in the Bhagavad Gita. It also seeks to investigate ideas like “understanding the nature of the self (Jiva) and its relationship with the supreme,” as well as “Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and their practical applications.”
Insights into “Dhanya Yoga for mental clarity and focus and applying the teachings of the Gita to address contemporary challenges like stress, conflict, and ethical dilemmas” are another goal of the planned course.
According to the “course outcomes section,” “the course enhances critical thinking, emotional resilience, and decision-making skills, empowering students to lead balanced and purposeful lives.”
“History and Background of Srimad-Bhagavadgita,” “Gita and its Commentaries,” “Sthitaprajna (a person of steady wisdom)” and “Svadharma (one’s purpose or duty)” are the four units that make up the course. “Niskam Karma (desireless action)” is another unit.
Many of the suggested texts for the four-credit course are by Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, and Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
“No critical texts.”
It’s a fantastic idea to study the Bhagavad Gita, but we need to check if the syllabus covers a variety of viewpoints, said Prof. N. Sukumar of the Political Science department. Despite the fact that both Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Periyar have written extensively on the subject, their viewpoints that contradict the Gita are excluded. We can determine that the course serves the Hindutva goal rather than an academic one in this way.
“I have nothing against Dr. Ambedkar or Periyar, but this is not the right context to study them,” stated Standing Committee member Harendra Nath Tiwari. The training is “crucial,” he continued, because it “exposes students to concepts that will liberate them.”
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