JNU teachers, students protest as counterterrorism course gets EC’s nod

According to teachers the ‘Counter Terrorism, Asymmetric Conflicts and Strategies for Cooperation among Major Powers’ course — which will be taught to engineering students — had problems with the content and reading list. Student activists called the course ‘Islamophobic’.

The executive council of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Thursday approved a course on counterterrorism, amid protests by teachers and students, even as it gave its nod to other projects, including setting up a medical college and observing Partition Remembrance Day on August 14, in accordance with the central government’s announcement.

On Wednesday, the university’s vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar said that there was a “needless controversy” over the new counterterrorism course. (Ajay Aggarwal/HT photo)

According to teachers the ‘Counter Terrorism, Asymmetric Conflicts and Strategies for Cooperation among Major Powers’ course — which will be taught to engineering students — had problems with the content and reading list. Student activists called the course ‘Islamophobic’.

The course was passed by the Academic Council on August 17.

On Wednesday, the university’s vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar said that there was a “needless controversy” over the new counterterrorism course.

Kumar said the controversy was being created “without going into the academic merits” of the course.

“There is a need to further evolve India’s perspective in a balanced and objective manner. This course has the potential to build a strong narrative for India. An in-depth understanding of various global and regional terrorist networks is a part of the curriculum of this course,” said Kumar.

Waseem RS, a member of Fraternity Movement JNU, said “The proposal of the course reflects upon the Islamophobia of JNU administration. The course will create a terrible situation for the Muslim JNU students as it will further the Islamophobic questions they face periodically in JNU,” he said