Delhi University Blames 'Clerical Error' For Row Over 'Muslim', 'Ch*****' Mother Tongue Options
Delhi University faced criticism for its undergraduate admission form, which incorrectly listed "Muslim" as a mother tongue and omitted "Urdu." The university attributed this to a "clerical mistake".
Delhi University has addressed the controversy surrounding its undergraduate admission registration form. The administration said acknowledged that a "clerical mistake" led to incorrect entries under the mother tongue section.
University PRO Anoop Lather said the error was immediately corrected and assured that steps would be taken to prevent such issues in the future. The controversy erupted after the registration form for DU's UG courses listed "Muslim" as a mother tongue while omitting "Urdu" entirely. Several university professors objected to the oversight, prompting swift clarification from the administration.
'Muslim', 'Bihari' Listed As Languages
Every year, DU's undergraduate registration form includes a section where applicants indicate their mother tongue. But this year, applicants were stunned to find that Urdu — one of India's 22 constitutionally recognised languages — was missing. In its place, the form reportedly listed "Muslim" as a language, an error that experts say conflates religion with language in a way that is both misleading and unconstitutional.
The shock didn't end there. The form allegedly also included labels like "Bihari," "Ch*****," "Mazdoor", "Dehati", "Mochi", and "Kurmi" under the language category. These terms are either casteist or regional identifiers and not languages.
Voices from within DU called the development deeply disturbing. Rudrashish Chakraborty, Associate Professor at Kirori Mal College and an elected member of the Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA), didn't mince words. "This isn't just a blunder — it's a calculated act of communalism," he said. "Removing Urdu is not just erasing a language; it's erasing a rich literary and cultural heritage shared by generations."
Chakraborty pointed out that the university appears to have equated Urdu exclusively with Muslims — an assumption he described as not only factually flawed but socially divisive. "By replacing the name of a language with a religious identity, the message is loud and clear: India's largest minority community is being deliberately otherized," he said.
Abha Dev Habib, a senior DU professor and prominent academic voice, echoed the alarm bells. With more than three lakh students expected to fill out this form, she warned that the implications are serious.
"This is more than just a clerical lapse — this is a systematic failure of the institution," she said. "Urdu is part of the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Removing it is not just offensive — it may be unconstitutional."
Habib questioned the intent behind the form's language classification, asking: "Is DU truly unaware that Indian Muslims speak a multitude of regional languages? Or is this omission a deliberate act?"
Her concern points to a larger issue — the normalization of such errors in spaces meant to uphold academic integrity and constitutional values.
'Flawed Terminology, Structural Bias'
Chakraborty also slammed the terminology used in the form. "The term 'mother tongue' is imprecise for official documentation," he said, suggesting that "native language" would have been more appropriate in administrative contexts.
The controversy has now snowballed into a broader conversation: Are India's academic institutions beginning to mirror the socio-political polarizations brewing outside campus walls?
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