SFI Protest Against UGC: Saffronisation of Education Explained

SFI Protests UGC Draft Report ★

An interactive summary of the SFI's opposition to the UGC's proposed curriculum framework, citing attempts to "saffronize" education.

The Core Accusation: "Saffronisation of Education"

The Students' Federation of India (SFI) alleges that the Union government is deliberately imposing a religion-based, ideological agenda on the education system to fulfill the goals of the RSS. They argue the draft report undermines scientific temper, rewrites history, and replaces critical inquiry with unscientific and mythological content, effectively turning universities into grounds for propaganda.

Exploring the Specific Criticisms

The SFI highlighted several controversial clauses across different academic disciplines. Click on a subject below to see their specific objections and the evidence they cite.

Chemistry: Promoting "Unscientific & Primitive" Ideas

The SFI argues the draft promotes an unscientific temper by blending science with religious and pseudoscientific content.

• Invocation to Goddess Saraswati: The curriculum reportedly begins with a religious invocation, which is seen as inappropriate for a scientific subject.
• Ayurveda, Siddha, and Homeopathy: It includes modules on traditional medicine systems, teaching the preparation and therapeutic uses of substances like milk, water, and honey.
• Undermining Scientific Temper: SFI leaders state this inclusion undermines the constitutional obligation to develop a scientific temper, labeling it as primitive.

Mathematics: Distorting Scientific Inquiry

The draft's focus on ancient Indian knowledge systems is viewed as an attempt to saffronize mathematics and present ideology as science.

• Ancient Indian Systems: Emphasizes concepts like Kala Ganana (traditional timekeeping) and Bharatiya Bijganit (Indian algebra).
• Vedic & Mythological Texts: Incorporates topics from texts like Surya Siddhanta and Aryabhatiyam, including cosmic cycles like Yugas and Kalpas.
• Panchanga & Auspicious Timings: Includes content on auspicious timings from the Indian calendar, which the SFI condemns as superstition.

History: Pushing an Ideological Agenda

The SFI strongly opposes the inclusion of texts linked to Hindu nationalist ideology, arguing it misleads students about India's history.

• Inclusion of V.D. Savarkar: The curriculum includes Savarkar's book, "The Indian War of Independence," for courses on the freedom struggle.
• Misleading Narrative: The SFI claims this risks distorting the secular and factual narrative of India's independence movement.
• RSS Agenda: This is cited as direct evidence of pushing an RSS-aligned view of history.

Commerce: Ideological Impositions

The commerce syllabus is criticized for including religious and ancient texts as academic content, which the SFI sees as ideological rather than educational.

• Kautilya’s Arthashastra: Proposed for inclusion in the commerce curriculum.
• Lessons from Bhagavad Gita: Includes modules on leadership derived from the religious text.
• Focus on "Bharat Bodh": Emphasizes India's traditional knowledge systems, seen as a move to impose a specific cultural-religious agenda.

From the Protest Leaders

Comrade Tamil, District Secretary

"This is a deliberate effort to impose an ideological agenda... dragging India back to an era of superstitions, social evils, and myths. They are attacking modern science by excluding essential content like the periodic table and the theory of evolution, turning universities into grounds for spreading myths."

SFI State Leadership

"The draft regulations are an imposition that undermines the autonomy of educational institutions. We must resist this forced homogenization to protect secularism and social justice in Indian education and foster a democratic, pluralistic academic culture."

This interactive page summarizes reports of the SFI protests against the UGC LOCF draft. Content is based on publicly available news sources.