Kashmir, Palestine Issue Dropped From DU's Psychology Syllabus: 'Overrepresentation Of Western Ideas'

Other topics such as Minority Stress Theory and psychology of Diversity were also objected to. Concerns have been raised about autonomy of the department and political motivations behind the changes.

Delhi University's psychology syllabus has been allegedly revised, removing topics such as the Israel-Palestine conflict, Kashmir issue, and suicide cases linked to dating apps.

Source : Facebook

The Israel-Palestine conflict, Kashmir issue, and suicide cases linked to dating apps were allegedly removed from Delhi University's psychology syllabus. 

According to a report by The Times of India, the decision was taken during a syllabus proposal meeting of the Standing Committee on Academic Matters held on Friday. 

The chair of the committee, Professor Shri Prakash Singh objected to what he called an "overrepresentation" of Western thoughts and insisted on replacing Unit 4 of the 'Psychology of Peace' paper, claimed faculty members present at the meeting. 

As per the report, the paper covered topics on Israel-Palestine and Kashmir conflicts along with Indian epics like the Mahabharata and Bhagvad Gita. According to the faculty members, Singh said that the Kashmir issue was "resolved" and "we don't need to teach Israel-Palestine." 

No Psychology Of Dating Apps  

The committee chair also struck down another proposal to include the psychology of dating apps under the digital media section. He argued the Indian family system is "strong" and there is no need to adopt "Western ideas." 

Singh argued this despite Urmi Nanda Biswas, head of the department, of psychology, stating that understanding dating apps is vital in light of recent suicides linked to their misuse, the faculty members claimed.

Other topics that were objected to included the Minority Stress Theory and the psychology of Diversity. While some faculty members emphasised the significance of teaching about caste discrimination, misogyny, and prejudice in Indian society, they alleged that the committee chair dismissed such topics as overly negative. 

Monami Sinha, a member of the Academic Council and the Standing Committee raised concern saying the autonomy of the department "seems to be overlooked." 

Sinha alleged that the chair committee's actions appeared to be "politically motivated and represent unwarranted interference in academic decision-making."