Acknowledgement
From article printed in
The Indian Express
Questions on Padmavati, triple talaq find place in BHU’s MA history paper
Rajeev Kumar Srivastava, assistant professor of Society and Culture in Medieval India at BHU, denied having set the question paper.
The question on Society and Culture in Medieval India read: “What do you mean by Johor tradition? Describe Rani Padmavati’s Johar in the period of Alauddin Khilji.”
PADMAVATI, the protagonist of a poem by a 16th century Sufi poet and the character at the centre of the raging controversy over the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film by the same name, features as a question in the MA second-year history paper of BHU, as does a question on triple talaq.
Students of history claimed that three weeks ago, they were asked to answer a question on “Rani Padmavati’s Johar” for 10 marks in a third semester examination. This was before questions on GST in Kautilya’s Arthshastra and globalisation as Manu’s theory featured in the BHU political science paper.
The question on Society and Culture in Medieval India read: “What do you mean by Johor tradition? Describe Rani Padmavati’s Johar in the period of Alauddin Khilji.” A student said he had studied the tradition of jauhar — a custom, as part of which, Hindu women self-immolated to avoid rape, capture and enslavement after defeat in a war — since it was in the syllabus.
But Padmavati was mentioned in passing as a matter of debate among historians in the chapter on jauhar. “We had read a small portion on Padmavati but the fact of her existence is debated among historians. Our professor stressed it as an important part only because it was in the news over the Deepika Padukone film,” an MA history student said.
Most modern historians have rejected the historicity of the Padmavati legend. Amir Khusrau, Khilji’s court poet who had accompanied him during his invasion of Chittor in 1303, did not write of any Rani Padmini or a jauhar at Chittor in his accounts of the attack, though he did refer to jauhar in his account of Alauddin’s conquest of Ranthambhore just before the Chittor campaign. Padmini first finds mention in the Padmavat, a poem written in Awadhi by 16th century Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi in 1540 — over two centuries after Khilji’s Chittor campaign.
Rajeev Kumar Srivastava, assistant professor of Society and Culture in Medieval India at BHU, denied having set the question paper. “If Alauddin Khilji has any truth, so does Padmavati… We have been teaching the condition of women during Alauddin Khilji’s reign every year. Padmavati was taught irrespective of any political controversy brewing currently. The Babri Masjid issue is also raging, does that mean we will stop teaching Babur?” he said.
On the question on triple talaq, a student said, “There was nothing on triple talaq in our Medieval India studies syllabus. But sir held a special class on it. That is how we managed to answer the question. The class was part of a lesson on the wretched condition of women, especially Hindus, during the rule of Delhi sultans.”
Srivastava said: “If a student asks me questions on a particular topic, I have to teach him, even if it not spelt out in the syllabus in as many words. Anyone who is wise will understand or know that the problem and evil of triple talaq must have crept into society as soon as Muslim rulers invaded India. It is common sense. I am only teaching my subject that spans from 1206 to 1707. I also teach the ills of Hindu society like sati and the condition of widows.”
A former head of history department and professor of ancient Indian history, Binda Paranjape, said it was usually the subject teacher who set the paper. “Usually, the professor who teaches his area of specialisation is the one who sets the paper. The paper is then vetted by a moderation board comprising other professors. Though I am not an expert on medieval history, being the former HoD and the seniormost teacher in the history department, I have never seen such questions from medieval history being set — especially the one on (nikah) halala that has more recent origins. The moderation board should have checked these.”
“These topics are not covered in the syllabus, so students of affiliated colleges, not taught by professors at BHU campus, will face difficulties answering questions. We as teachers of history do teach the emergence of popular historical narratives, but the treatment of the subject differs from teacher to teacher, something which makes a lot of difference,” she added. History HoD Ajay Pratap could not be reached for comments.
First Published on: December 10, 2017 4:34 am
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