‘Jinnah as minority leader’: Jammu University syllabus triggers controversy; panel set up

Muhammad Ali Jinnah

• Jinnah in syllabus triggers row at Jammu University
• Panel set up to review political science syllabus after protests
• Students demand focus on other minority leaders like Ambedkar

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A chapter on minorities and nations featuring Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah has triggered a controversy at the University of Jammu, prompting Vice Chancellor Umesh Rai to set up a committee to examine the issue.

The panel, headed by Professor Naresh Padha from the Physics Department, has been tasked with reviewing the political science syllabus after objections were raised by a section of students.

Jinnah has long been part of the postgraduate political science curriculum at the university. Earlier, he was included in a chapter on the “two-nation theory,” discussed as a key idea behind the Partition of India.

However, in the revised syllabus, Jinnah now appears in a chapter titled “Minorities and the Nations,” where he is presented as a leader of minorities in India. This shift has drawn criticism from student groups.

Sannak Shrivats, J&K state secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), who led protests on campus, said students do not object to Jinnah being taught in the context of Partition, reported Indian Express.

However, he demanded the removal of the new chapter, arguing that figures like B. R. Ambedkar or Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan should be included when discussing leaders representing minorities.

Defending the syllabus, Head of the Political Science Department Baljit Singh Mann said the inclusion of Jinnah and other thinkers is purely academic and aligned with curricula followed by universities across the country, as well as UGC norms.

He added that the university does not promote any ideology but aims to present diverse perspectives to encourage critical thinking, calling the controversy unnecessary.

This is not the first time the department has faced backlash. In 2018, a controversy erupted after a professor was seen in a video referring to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh as a terrorist.

The professor was suspended, and an inquiry was launched. He later expressed regret, saying his remarks were taken out of context and clarified that he was explaining historical perspectives from the British era.