In a bid to expand its course curriculum and provide a wider range of options to students, Delhi University is planning to introduce Vedic Literature, Upanishad-Parichayya, Dharma and Religion among the options at the Centre for Hindu Studies, Delhi University, and offer them as minor electives to students.
Sources said the department has proposed to introduce six new elective courses for students wanting to major in Hindu studies and is awaiting approval from the university’s academic council, whose meeting is scheduled for July 12. The additions are based on the recommendations of the Centre for Hindu Studies board of directors.
The elective course, Bhagavad Gita for Mankind, will teach students the basic spirituality of India as depicted in the Bhagavad Gita, while the papers on Purana Parichaya will cover Hindu history, culture, geography, architecture and other knowledge systems.
The centre will also introduce two general elective courses for students who are not majoring in Hindu Studies but have chosen commerce, political science or computer science as their major subjects. These students will be provided with papers on Hindu Jivana Drishti and Manovijana to familiarise themselves with Hindu Studies.
In addition to the UGC-approved curriculum, the Centre for Hindu Studies plans to provide more options to students by offering papers on various aspects of Hinduism, including papers on the Bhagavad Gita, Hindu thinkers and Purana Parichaya for humanity, officials said.
These options are available to students who do not want to study commerce, political science or computer science as minors in addition to their major subjects. “We have proposed these electives to make the course curriculum more comprehensive and tailor it to the needs of students. As a relatively new institution, we aim to make our programmes multifaceted,” the official said.
In this introduction to Vedic Literature, students will study the literary works of prominent Vedic and Upanishad commentators, from the Rig Veda to the Vedānga.
The Upanishad-Parichaya elective introduces you to basic Hindutva as analysed in the Upanishads.
“The essay on Hindu thinkers aims to familiarize students with the main ideas of prominent Hindu thinkers from ancient to modern times. Further, the essay on Dharma and Religion introduces the basic concepts of Hindu Adhyatma and Dharma and compares them with Western religious traditions,” reads the learning objectives of the proposed elective.
Additionally, the center will offer six new interdisciplinary electives for political science students.
