350 academics come out in support of IGNOU s Jyotish course The scholars condemned a concerted effort by ambassadors of Western ideologies to suppress our knowledge traditions in their letter to the education minister
Nearly 350 academics on Friday came out in support of the course on Indian astrology that the Indira Gandhi National Open University has introduced and condemned a “concerted effort” by “ambassadors of Western ideologies” to suppress “our knowledge traditions”.
The comments came in an open letter that faculty members and researchers from various colleges and universities wrote to education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal.
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The letter came days after more than 1,000 academics, mainly from the sciences, issued a statement terming astrology a “pseudoscience” and opposing the master’s degree programme in jyotish that Ignou launched on June 24
Several scientists have closed ranks to accuse Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou) of promoting “pseudoscience” after the institute last week launched a postgraduate programme in astrology to make students “employable in the field of jyotish”.
The master’s degree programme in jyotish (MAJY), launched by the Centre-run Ignou on June 24, will be conducted through the distance mode, as are its other courses.
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More than 1,000 scientists and academics have already signed a note that acknowledges India’s rich tradition of mathematical astronomy dating back to the Vedic period.
“However, these achievements cannot and should not be used as a proxy to justify claims that the positions of the planets somehow have an impact on anyone’s daily life, or instruments like horoscopes can actually predict anyone’s future,” the note said.
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