Commenting on the criticism over including books of MS Golwalkar, Veer Savarkar and Deendayal Upadhyaya in the curriculum of Kannur University, Kerala Governor Arif Muhammad Khan on Saturday said that classrooms expose students to several ideas and those who are uncomfortable with the diversity of views are at a loss.
Clarifying that he is not well aware of the controversy, Khan said, "I'm not completely aware of the matter (Kannur University syllabus). But I think universities and classrooms are places where students are exposed to a wide range of ideas. People who feel uncomfortable studying diverse views will cause loss to themselves."
Yesterday, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Gopinath Raveendran had said that text cannot be dismissed or banned. "They must be read and then either accepted or rejected. Allegations of the Kannur University saffronising political science syllabus are incorrect. Makers of the syllabus have included the foundational text of different movements," he added.
Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindu had sought an explanation from Raveendran for the same.
The Kerala Students Union (KSU), the students' wing of Congress had taken out a march at Kannur University for including books of MS Golwalkar, Veer Savarkar and Deendayal Upadhyaya in studies.
KSU activists blocked Vice-Chancellor Gopinath Raveendran for including the books for the third semester of the postgraduate Public Administration course.
Earlier, the Muslim Students Federation (MSF), the students' wing of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) also took out a separate march.
( With inputs from ANI )
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