The poems by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee have found a place in Delhi Universitys postgraduate English curriculum. The move was officially approved on Friday at a meeting of the universitys Executive Council, following prior clearance by the Academic Council. Aman Kumar, a member of the Executive Council, confirmed the development, noting that the proposal had followed the standard academic procedure. The Academic Council passed the proposal on May 10. After that, it was proposed to the Executive Council for final approval. Today, the EC passed it too, he said. Vajpayees works have been included under the paper Post-Independence Indian Literatures in the first semester of the MA English program. Known for his eloquent Hindi verses rooted in themes of nationalism, culture, and collective spirit, Vajpayees poetic lines such as Kadam milakar chalna hoga, Geet naya gata hoon, and Aao milke diya jalayen remain widely recognized and quoted. However, the inclusion has not been without dissent. Rudrashish Chakraborty, another elected member of the Executive Council, voiced strong objections regarding the literary merit of Vajpayees poems. Inclusion of overtly political pieces makes no sense… Vajpayees poems carry no literary value to be part of a PG syllabus in English, he said. Chakraborty argued that poets like Sudama Pandey Dhoomil, Suryakant Tripathi Nirala, and Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh better represent the post-Independence literary spirit. Meanwhile, Sunil Sharma, another EC member, clarified the councils role in the process. There was no discussion on the content of the syllabus during the meeting. The EC only passes recommendations made by the Academic Council, which is the competent body to decide syllabus matters, he said. Vajpayee, who served as Indias Prime Minister across three terms between 1996 and 2004, was known for his oratory skills as much as for his poetry, which often blended patriotism with philosophical reflection. His literary inclusion in the syllabus is part of a larger revision across departments. The meeting also approved curriculum changes in disciplines such as Sociology and Psychology and announced the launch of new academic programs in Journalism and Nuclear Medicine. Earlier, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has also introduced his famous poem Kadam Milakar Chalna Hoga (We have to walk together) in a Class 8 textbook. Through this poem, the poet makes an appeal to countrymen that irrespective of difficulties we all should walk together for a better tomorrow. According to a report in The Indian Express, the poem is now a part of Hindi textbook Vasant which carries essays, poems and short stories by renowned writers like Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Harishankar Parsai, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Ismat Chughtai and Suryakant Tripathi Nirala. The revised version of Vasant will be available for students from next month before the new session starts.

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