Amid debate over syllabus change, DU's History dept head quits, cites medical reasons

Indian Express

5 days ago

Amid debates over syllabus changes in Delhi University's (DU) History Department, its head, Professor Shalini Shah, has resigned citing medical reasons. This comes days before the new academic session is set to begin at DU and before the university steps into its fourth-year for the first time under the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020. The university on Tuesday announced that the Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences, Professor Sanjoy Roy, will take over the History department's charge for two months starting July 22.
Speaking to The Indian Express on Wednesday, Shah said, 'I am unwell. I resigned on medical grounds.'
The History Department has been navigating contentious syllabus negotiations as well as allegations of procedural violations in PhD admissions over the past few months.
The friction over syllabus changes has deepened in the wake of DU's shift to the FYUP (Four-Year Undergraduate Programme) under NEP. History faculty members have alleged that the syllabus reforms required for the new structure were met with resistance at higher levels, and that courses approved at the departmental level were frequently delayed, altered, or blocked when they reached academic and executive councils.
In March, The Indian Express had reported that Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh was opposed to the inclusion of Manusmriti and Tuzuk-i-Baburi (Baburnama) in the revised History (Honours) syllabus (undergraduate). Manusmriti was dropped from the syllabus.
A senior faculty member in the department said, 'It has become difficult to clear courses and modifications. Many long-standing papers, taught by the faculty for decades, were either modified or not cleared at all for teaching. Often, there was no meaningful discussion about these in the statutory bodies.'
Shah, however, said her concerns were personal. 'I was advised to get some tests done even before this whole thing started. As HOD, I had no time, so I had no choice but to resign to take care of myself,' she said.
Concern over the resignation has been compounded by DU's decision to assign charge of the department to the Dean (Social Sciences), rather than the next senior-most professor in the History department.
'They should have given the responsibility, even if temporarily, to the next seniormost faculty member within the department,' said a professor. 'This is a rare case… It sends a message that the administration is not willing to trust or empower the department's own leadership.'
V-C Yogesh Singh, however, said the resignation was not related to the syllabus revamp. 'There was no issue or any pressure… or anything related to the syllabus revamp. We, in fact, tried to convince Professor Shah to stay on until October so that she could take a call in a more stabilised environment once the new session began. But she cited health reasons and requested that she be allowed to step down.'
On why the department's charge was given to the Dean (Social Sciences), Singh acknowledged that the move was 'unusual'. He, however, added, 'There was a paucity of time. Since the head resigned immediately, we needed some time to figure out who to appoint. Giving the charge to the dean seemed like the best move. If it had been given to a faculty member on a temporary basis, it could have hurt the member's emotions if he or she is not chosen as the permanent head later. Since it is easier to transfer the charge from the dean to another faculty member, I had suggested that the Dean of Social Sciences take over for the time being.'
'An effort will definitely be made to appoint a permanent HOD in the next two months,' Dean Sanjoy Roy said.