Latest news with #ChristopheJaffrelot
Time of India
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Protests Over Jihad In New MA Pol Sc Syllabus
New Delhi: References to jihad, terrorism, self-determination in Kashmir and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Delhi University's revised MA political science syllabus have drawn objections from members of the university's Standing Committee on Courses. The syllabus, for implemented from the 2025-26 academic year, has already been approved by DU's Academic Council and Executive Council but awaits a final nod from the standing committee, where it was recently reviewed and sent back for revision after several faculty members voiced objections. At the centre of the objections is the elective paper, DSE 17: Politics and Ethnic Conflicts in J&K, which aims to examine "historical, constitutional and political aspects of J&K, internal and external dimensions, separatism, insurgency, migration of Pandits from the Valley, human rights and Armed Forces Special Act-related issues". The course also includes topics such as "debates on state autonomy, factors of terrorism, and secessionist politics". The syllabus features readings on India's national identity, Hindu nationalism and the politics of anxiety. Some members of the standing committee objected to the topics proposed to be taught in the paper. Another paper, DSE 51: Religious Nationalism and Political Violence, which examines the mobilisation of religious identity in political conflicts, also came under the scanner. According to its stated objective, the course seeks to understand "how religion becomes a political resource for mobilisation and contestation in different contexts, especially in multi-religious societies". It adds that "the course also interrogates the complex relationship between religion, modernity, nationalism and violence". You Can Also Check: Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi There are references to RSS in DSE 14: Identities and Political Transformation in India, which includes the organisation as part of a reading by famous French scholar Christophe Jaffrelot, a known critic of Hindu nationalism and the Narendra Modi govt. Also flagged was DSE 63: Discourses on Hindu Nationalism, which proposes to study "the core issues of Hindu nationalism which is the most contested subject of debate in the Indian politics". The syllabus engages with key thinkers and includes readings like "Essentials of Hindutva" by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. On the international front, DSE 28: Pakistan and the World includes discussions on 'Pakistan's ideological foundations and nationalism; Islam and the military; The Kashmir problem – genesis, wars, proxy war and peace process; Islamic radicalism, trans-border terrorism and Jihad', and Pakistan's evolving foreign policy, particularly in relation to India, Afghanistan and China. The inclusion of such framing in a university-level elective has also drawn pointed queries from a section of the committee. "These papers are not academic in nature. They are ideologically driven and meant to push a particular narrative. The inclusion of such content under the garb of curriculum reform is unacceptable," declared professor Harendra Nath Tiwari, a member of the standing committee. The panel has asked the political science department to revise the syllabus by removing the controversial papers and objectives. A fresh draft is expected to be presented when the standing committee reconvenes on July 1. The DU administration had earlier said the syllabus had to be reworked keeping India as the focal point of teaching. These objections come amid a wider pattern of contestation around syllabus revisions at DU. In recent months, changes to both undergraduate and postgraduate curricula — particularly under the New Education Policy framework — have faced criticism from sections of the academic community. In May, a controversy erupted over the removal of proposed papers on the Israel and Palestine conflict, issues in Kashmir and one on dating app-related suicides from the undergraduate syllabus of the psychology department.
The Wire
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
Why the Indo-Pakistan Conflict Is at a Turning Point
Menu हिंदी తెలుగు اردو Home Politics Economy World Security Law Science Society Culture Editor's Pick Opinion Support independent journalism. Donate Now World Why the Indo-Pakistan Conflict Is at a Turning Point Christophe Jaffrelot 36 minutes ago Internationally, India appeared relatively isolated from Pakistan. Worse still, Trump willingly treats India and Pakistan as equals. A security official keeps a vigil atop an armed vehicle at Gupkar Road on the banks of the Dal Lake, amid the cessation of hostilities agreed upon by India and Pakistan, in Srinagar, Sunday, May 18, 2025. Photo: PTI. Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute now There have been so many warlike episodes between India and Pakistan since their birth in 1947 that the recent conflict is often seen as a sign of continuity – quite wrongly. First, this crisis occurred at a time when, for the first time in the country's history, Jammu and Kashmir, as of 2019, no longer enjoyed the autonomy hitherto guaranteed by the 1950 constitution. This reform reflected the Hindu nationalist logic of the Modi government, for whom Kashmiri separatism was partly explained by said autonomy, while regional parties, on the contrary, attributed it to the fact that New Delhi had never allowed this autonomy to be implemented. Since 2019, Narendra Modi has held the belief that he had paved the way for normalisation, enabling, in particular, a boom in tourism. In fact, the maintenance of a strong military presence (around 500,000 men, i.e. one soldier for every 10 Kashmiris) and the subjugation of civil society, including the media – not to mention the increasing number of disappearances of young Kashmiris – continue to fuel high tensions. The fact that 26 civilians fell victim to a more deadly attack than any recorded since 2019 on April 22 in Kashmir shows that the expected normalisation has not taken place. Secondly, the Indian response, which attributed the attack to Pakistan, was on an unprecedented scale. The Indian army targeted nine camps and other jihadist training centres, some of them located not in the part of Kashmir claimed by India, but in Punjab, behind an internationally recognised border. Then, in retaliation to the Pakistani response, the Indian army attacked military bases. The scale of the aftershock has increased the risk of escalation, partly because of the situation in Pakistan – also virtually unprecedented. Not since its 1971 defeat by India had the Pakistani army been so unpopular. The population's rejection was due not only to the privileges that the military had arrogated to itself at a time when the country was going through a deep social crisis, but also to the fact that Imran Khan, the former prime minister who had opposed the army chief, had been locked up. More than ever, the army general needed to save face, especially if its nuclear arsenal was at risk. This retaliation was also motivated by another new development: India's challenge to the Indus Waters Treaty, which since 1960 has regulated the sharing of water from this river and its tributaries. If New Delhi deprives Pakistan of the water to which this treaty entitled it, agriculture in the Punjab (and other downstream provinces), which is already suffering from water stress due to climate change, will eventually no longer be able to ensure the country's food security, nor produce the cotton that weighs so heavily in the country's trade balance. In these conditions, alerted by the risk of nuclearisation of the conflict, US president Donald Trump abruptly intervened – whereas until then he had shown an incredible casualness considering that this 'thousand-year-old' (sic) conflict was not within his jurisdiction. This intervention was disturbingly effective: a few hours after initiating the talks, Trump announced that he had obtained a ceasefire in a message on Truth Social, taking the Indians by surprise, who were then furious to hear the American president mention talks on Kashmir and US secretary of state Marco Rubio invite them to negotiate with Islamabad in a neutral location. In the space of a few hours, Washington brought India back to square one, having managed since the 1970s to avoid any internationalisation of this issue, which it wishes to settle bilaterally. Immediately, the Modi government was also the target of scathing criticism, both from its supporters who, whipped up by the government and the quasi-hysterical media, hoped to finally wipe out the Pakistani threat, and from the opposition, who criticised it for capitulating to the United States. A military operation that had just vividly demonstrated India's 'zero tolerance' for terrorism turned into a political rout, all the more so as Pakistan celebrated its 'victory', symbolised by the destruction of an Indian Rafale and other 'trophies'. Internationally, India appeared relatively isolated from Pakistan. On the latter's side, Turkey and above all China – whose (many) weapons sold to or co-produced with Pakistan have proved quite effective – have expressed unwavering support for Islamabad. This Sino-Pakistani solidarity, which had not been so evident in previous conflicts, but which can now be explained by the creation of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, the flagship of the new Silk Roads, bodes ill for India, whose economy is heavily dependent on Chinese imports. Moreover, China could do to India what it wants to do to Pakistan in terms of access to water, as the Brahmaputra river crosses the Tibetan plateau before entering India. On the Indian side, not only did New Delhi fail to include the Pakistan-based terrorist group to which the Indians attribute the April attack in the Security Council communiqué condemning it, but it also failed to prevent the International Monetary Fund from granting Pakistan a further $1 billion tranche. Worse still, Trump willingly treats India and Pakistan as equals, sending them back to back, while New Delhi strives to emancipate itself from this face-to-face confrontation with its neighbour, which is a major deterrent to foreign investors, and to play the role of great power. By multiplying its partners without ever wanting to forge an alliance, India has perhaps reached the limits of plurilateralism. Beyond this, New Delhi faces a new challenge: Pakistan, where the army has regained its lustre, risks playing the terrorist card again, safe in the knowledge that it has nuclear weapons. That's nothing new, but more dangerous in the current context. Christophe Jaffrelot is Senior Research Fellow at CERI-Sciences Po/CNRS, Paris, Professor of Indian Politics and Sociology at King's College London and Chair of the British Association for South Asian Studies. This article first appeared in French on Le Monde. Make a contribution to Independent Journalism Related News Pak's Support to Terror, Op Sindoor, Indus Water Treaty: What the All-Party Delegations Will Address IWT: India's Actions Will Affect Pakistan, but the Latter's Poor Water Management Is Also an Issue Interview: Is War the Only Option? India Needs a Strategic Reset After Pahalgam Terror Attack, Operation Sindoor High-Stakes Nuclear Poker: How Pakistan's Deterrent Still Checks India—Even After Operation Sindoor Full Text: India is Getting Re-Hyphenated With Pakistan Because Under Modi We're Democratically Regressing The Path Forward For India and Pakistan Should Be Shaped By Peace, Not By Excitement Over War Games Row Over Army Statement That India's Air Defence System Shielded Golden Temple From Pakistan's Strikes Govt to Send Multi-Party Delegations Abroad for Outreach on India's Position on Terror, Conflict with Pak View in Desktop Mode About Us Contact Us Support Us © Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
