October 30, 2020
TED NewsDesk, Pune: After the appearance of a few problematic questions on ‘jihad’, the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) extended its apology late on Wednesday. On Thursday a functionary informed that the university included questions related to ‘jihad’ in both English and Marathi in the online exams of TYBA and TYBCom. The bilingual question baffled the students when it appeared in the multiple-choice category of Modern World History exam of TYBA and Defence Budgeting paper of TYBCom exam.
Question of TYBA was:
Jihad is an example of what type of terrorism?
- Religious
- Revolutionary
- Political
- State-Sponsored
Question of TYBCom was:
Which one of the following is the leading cause of Jihadi terrorism?
- Globalisation
- Spread of Communism
- Armament Proliferation
- Use of violence in the name of Islamic radicalism
The incident created a furore among the students who took the matter to the administration of SPPU. Some even used social media platforms to raise their objections. Even though the Modern World History subject has a topic on terrorism, the question was bizarre. A student named Hashim Ansari said that there isn’t any topic in the syllabus relevant to the type of question that figured in the TYBA test. Many students debated the relevance of the TYBCom question.
Dr Nitin R. Karmalkar, Vice-Chancellor, SPPU and Prafull Pawar, Registrar, SPPU, remained silent on the matter. The university released a notice as a reaction to the rage, in which it accepted that a ‘wrong word’ was used mistakenly in the question paper.
“The administration expresses its regret for the same. The person heading the committee, which prepared the question paper, has been asked to explain the same and the persons concerned have been reprimanded,” as per the statement.
Calling the apology of the varsity as a mere formality, Ansari along with other students claimed that SPPU failed to spell out the presence of ‘Jihadi’ word in the mischievously set question. Besides, they also emphasised that the options given as a part of MCQ attacked a specific religion.
“We are demanding that the university must issue a proper apology, take strong action against those responsible for this mischief in a time-bound manner, and refrain from targeting the students who raised the issue,” Ansari stated.
On the other hand, the authorities of the varsity alleged that they gave justifications regarding the same. However, many people are circulating some ‘doctored images’ to satisfy their propaganda.
The issue created some discomfort amongst citizens. Many took it to a personal level considering it as an attack on and interference in their religious preferences.
Source: https: Times Now News
