No endorsement for proposal to include Manusmriti in DU's law course: Dharmendra Pradhan
Jul 12, 2024
New Delhi [India], July 12 : Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that there was no endorsement of the proposal to include Manusmriti in the syllabus of Delhi University's law course.
"Yesterday, some information came to us that Manusmriti will be part of the Law Faculty course (in DU). I inquired and talked to the Delhi University Vice-Chancellor. He told me that some law faculty members have proposed some changes in the jurisprudence chapter. Today there is an Academic Council meeting. There is no endorsement of any such proposal in the authentic body of the Academic Council," Pradhan told reporters.
"Yesterday itself, the Vice Chancellor rejected that proposal. We are all committed to our Constitution, and to a futuristic approach. The government is committed to upholding the true spirit and letter of the Constitution. There is no question of including any controversial portion of any script," he added.
On Thursday, Delhi University Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Yogesh Singh, announced that the proposal to include the Sanskrit text 'Manusmriti' or Laws of Manu, which belongs to the Dharmastra literary tradition of Hinduism, in the LLB curriculum was rejected.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) National President and the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati on Friday welcomed the decision of the Delhi University Vice Chancellor to reject a proposal to include 'Manusmriti' in the syllabus of its Law Faculty stating that strong opposition was natural and the decision to cancel this proposal was a welcome step.
"Strong opposition to the proposal to teach Manusmriti in the Law Department of Delhi University, which goes against the honour and dignity of the Indian Constitution and its egalitarian and welfare objectives, is natural and the decision to cancel this proposal is a welcome step," she said in a post on social media platform X.
She further stated that the Manusmriti doesn't match the principles on which Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar composed the Indian Constitution and such attempts to include the Manusmriti in the curriculum were not appropriate.
"Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar composed the universally accepted Indian Constitution, especially keeping the self-respect of the neglected people and women as well as humanism and secularism at the core, which does not match with Manusmriti at all. Therefore, any such attempt is not appropriate at all," Mayawati further stated.
