Rahul backs activist over DU’s alleged move to ban his books

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has expressed solidarity with academician-activist Kancha Ilaiah over the alleged move by the Delhi University to ban three books written by him, calling it an attempt by the RSS to keep Dalits “disempowered” and propagate a “unilateral view of Hinduism”.

“I write this letter to express my solidarity against the majoritarian move being made by the Delhi University by recommending the ban of three of your books from the university’s political science curriculum,” Mr Gandhi said in a letter to Ilaiah, a Dalit rights activist.

The RSS’ “fascism” is apparent in the move, Mr Gandhi alleged. “Their aggressive move to propagate a unilateral view of Hinduism is deplorable,” he said. Mr Gandhi said Ilaiah’s books were a part of the university’s syllabus for over a decade, without any questions being raised on their impact on the minds of students.

“Now the RSS, which cannot boast of any intellectual or academic capital, is seeking to destroy academic integrity by silencing diverse voices. “This is part of their larger design to keep the Shudras and Dalits disempowered,” he claimed. Mr Gandhi hoped that the Academic Council would reject the move by Delhi University’s Standing Committee on Academic Matters.