From degree row to JNU, Irani's tenure has been hit by controversies

A look at the highs and lows of Smriti Irani as the human resources development minister

Smriti Irani’s removal from the prestigious HRD ministry was one of the major casualties of the Cabinet reshuffle that took place on Tuesday. She will now take over as the textiles minister, while Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar will replace her in the key portfolio. 

Irani has been one of the most controversial Cabinet ministers since the Modi government came to power in May 2014. She has been criticised largely for the alleged ‘campus unrest’ in the country where protests on issues had taken place across universities in India. 

In a political career that has seen more controversy than accolades, here’s a look at the key moments of Irani’s ministerial journey till now. 

Highs:

- Irani announced her arrival on the national political stage when she was chosen to contest against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014. At battleground Amethi, Gandhi had a close contest against Irani, with some trends actually suggesting the latter’s victory. Eventually, it was Gandhi who won the seat. Irani was then elected to the Rajya Sabha and handed over the Human Resources Development (HRD) ministry. 

- Her hands-on involvement in the ministry has also attracted praised from some quarters. She is known to have been personally involved in the decision-making processes.

- Apart from these, she has been lauded for making it easy for students to attend technical institutes, introducing a national ranking system for educational institutes, promoting online courses, along with easing norms for universities to invite foreign faculty, according to a report in NDTV. Along with this, maternity and child-care benefits for women pursuing PhDs are also key accomplishments.

Lows:

The degree conundrum

As soon as she took over the HRD ministry, there were allegations of discrepancies in her educational qualification. In 2004, when she contested elections, she is said to have declared Bachelor of Arts as her degree in 1994. While in 2014, she declared herself a graduate in Bachelor of Commerce in 1994. Irani also claimed to have gone to Yale University, which she later clarified to have taken a week-long programme.  

Campus issues

Under her tenure, major universities in the country like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Hyderabad University had seen mass protests. The death of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula and the sedition cases on students in JNU had both lead to mass criticism of Irani for mishandling these cases. The issue of nationalism took centrestage during these protests, with debates and protests happening on a large scale. 

IIMs & IITs under scanner

RK Shevgaonkar, IIT-Delhi's director, resigned his position in December 2014, citing unncecessary intervention by Irani in the operations of the institute. This was followed by the resignation of Nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar as the chairperson of IIT-Mumbai board, alleging intervention from HRD ministry to select three directors.

A Bill which sought to give more powers to the ministry from the Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) had backfired as well. Irani had held several rounds of discussions and eventually this clause had to be removed. 

Flag rule

Irani’s decision invoked mixed reactions when a decision was taken to fly the national flag atop a 207-feet tall mast on the campuses of all 46 central universities. The aim of the exercise was to ‘prominently and proudly’ signify a ‘strong India’. 

German or Sanskrit?

All Kendriya Vidyalayas were asked to replace the third language option from German to Sanskrit. The ministry had then said that the language will be taught as an additional subject of hobby class. The outrage on the issue was huge, and to the extent that German chancellor Angela Merkel had raised the issue with PM Modi.