Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has drawn widespread outrage over its new course on counter-terrorism for engineering students pursuing a dual degree programme.
The optional course has allegedly stated that “Jihadi terrorism” is the only form of “fundamentalist-religious terrorism”, and Communist regimes in the erstwhile Soviet Union and China were the “predominant state-sponsors of terrorism” that influenced “radical Islamic states”.
An academic council member said the proposal was passed on August 17 without discussion, as has been the trend under current vice-chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar. Sources suggested that a final approval from the executive council was a formality.
The optional course, titled as ‘Counter Terrorism, Asymmetric Conflicts and Strategies for Cooperation among Major Powers’, which will be available to students studying MS with International Relations as specialisation after pursuing bachelor in engineering, further asserts that the Communist governments in the then Soviet Union and China were the “predominant state-sponsors of terrorism that influenced radical Islamic states”.
Aaj Tak spoke to Professor Arvind Kumar, Professor and Chairperson of the School of International Studies, who designed the course.
Regarding the need of this course, he said, “This is part of our course where students after doing BTech come to study about International Relations. That’s why we choose such a subject which has to do with international security as well as technology.”
“The fight against terrorism is an important topic from India’s perspective. At a time when many countries of the world are not paying as much attention to India’s security needs as necessary, this topic becomes even more important,” the professor said.
“Jihad is a global challenge. At a time when Afghanistan has been occupied by the Taliban, nothing could have been a more contemporary topic than this,” he said.
“Different countries need mutual cooperation regarding jihad, especially as it has a great impact on the geopolitics of South Asia. Those who are arguing about this should also note that cyber and economic terrorism have also been made part of this paper,” he added.
