Highlights

1
The English department's HoD issued a statement
2
He strongly criticised what a "citizen-journalist-cum-engineering-student from Vellore" had done
3
He said she had taken it upon herself "to damn the institution on the basis of this one page."

Professors of English at Benglauru's St Joseph's College have expressed solidarity with its sociology department, which was in the eye of a controversy on Friday after it emerged that students were given study material containing shocking observations about dowry.

One of the pages listed horrifying statements about dowry, a practice that has been illegal in India since 1961. Sample this: "The marriage of ugly girls, who otherwise would have gone without a partner, is made possible by offering (a) heavy amount of dowry."

However, the author of the book from which the page was photocopied, attributes such beliefs to apologists for dowry, and writes a disclaimer at the bottom of the page.

Cheriyan Alexander, the head of St Joseph's College's English Department, came down strongly on a "citizen-journalist-cum-engineering-student from Vellore" who he said had taken it upon herself "to damn the institution on the basis of this one page."

The last two paragraphs of his post contain a passage that illustrates, through a thought-experiment, what he thinks she did wrong:

"Let's say a teacher of political thought and of the various political ideologies circulates readings taken from across the whole spectrum of ideologies that have been articulated on the stage of history up to now. So there are selections from Kautilya, Manu, Cicero, Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Marx, Lenin, Hitler, Gandhi, Mussolini, Ambedkar, Mao, among others. The purpose of the educator is to expose the students to the entire range so as to enable them to compare, analyse, critique and then distinguish between that which is regressive and that which is progressive among them - in short helping the student to think for himself or herself...Now, let us say a page from these selections falls into the hands of the overenthusiastic citizen journalist of the kind under discussion. What is to prevent such a one from seizing a page from Hitler and say the college is indoctrinating its students in fascist ideology or a page from Mao and concluding the college is an incubating center for Naxalites. It can happen, my friends."

And he signs off with a warning: "So be on the guard against this growing tribe. They are the newest enemies of academic freedom."

Here's the full post.

WATCH | A UNICEF awareness video on dowry

'Dowry helps ugly girls get married' row: Bengaluru college professor slams 'irresponsible' reporting

The head of St Joseph's College's English Department said he was "appalled at the growing number of irresponsible journalists being spawned by social media."

Highlights