Jinnah chapter sparks controversy, Jammu University sets up inquiry committee

Jammu: The Vice-Chancellor of Jammu University has constituted a high-level committee to review the syllabus of the postgraduate course in political science, sparking a major controversy as it contains a chapter on the political thought of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah.The committee is tasked with “thoroughly reviewing the matter and submitting a report at the earliest opportunity,” according to an order issued by the provost’s office. The group will be led by Professor Naresh Padha of the Department of Physics and include the heads of the Departments of Philosophy, History and Sociology and the Director of the Department of Strategic and Area Studies. The Assistant Provost (Academic Affairs) will serve as Membership Secretary.ABVP activists staged a protest at the university on Friday demanding withdrawal of the chapter on Jinnah. The protesters, led by ABVP secretary Sannak Shrivats, raised slogans against the government and warned that if the content was not withdrawn, they would be “forced to launch a strong democratic agitation across Jammu and Kashmir”.“Our government should note that the Department of Political Science of Jammu University has released the syllabus for the session 2026-2028…certain persons have been listed as minority representatives, including Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Muhammad Ali Jinnah,” Shrivac said. He added that these persons proposed the two-nation theory and played a role in Partition and “educating them would raise serious concerns”.“We will wait and see what the committee recommends. University authorities must understand that academic freedom does not mean ignoring national sentiments,” Srivac further said.Professor Baljit Singh Mann, head of the political science department, defended the syllabus on Friday, saying the inclusion of Jinnah and others was “purely academic” and in line with the curriculum followed by universities across the country as well as UGC norms. “The goal is to present different perspectives so students can evaluate the pros and cons and distinguish right from wrong. This is an academic exercise, not advocacy,” he said.When asked by the media on Saturday, he said he had made his position clear and stood by what he said a day ago.