Delhi University blames glitch after 'Muslim' listed as language on form

DU sparked a row after listing 'Muslim' as a mother tongue while omitting Urdu - prompting criticism for conflating religion with language; university called it a clerical error

Delhi University (DU) found itself under fire this week when applicants discovered that its undergraduate admission portal listed 'Muslim' under the ‘mother tongue’ section while omitting Urdu, a language recognised in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

 

Screenshots of the form spread rapidly on social media, prompting academics, civil-society groups and political commentators to accuse the university of conflating religion with language and sidelining a key marker of India’s cultural heritage.  In a statement, DU said the mistake was “inadvertent” and purely clerical. “The University of Delhi sincerely regrets the inadvertent error in its admission form. We acknowledge your concerns and are committed to addressing them. However, attributing ulterior motives to this entirely unintentional oversight is unwarranted. We request all not to vitiate the University’s diverse and harmonious environment,” the statement read.

 

The portal was temporarily taken offline, corrected to include Urdu, and restored. University officials have not offered a detailed explanation of how the dropdown was generated.

 

Faculty say 'problem runs deeper'

 

Several faculty members dismissed the idea that the episode was a routine glitch. “This is not an innocent mistake,” Abha Dev Habib, a former Executive Council member, told news agency ANI. “Conflating religion with language is ignorant and dangerous.”

 

Mithuraaj Dhusiya, who also serves on the Executive Council, warned that mistakes like these damage the university’s inclusive image. "Urdu is an essential part of India’s cultural heritage," Dhusiya said.

 

At Kirori Mal College, professor Rudrashish Chakraborty called the portrayal of “Muslim” as a language “a worrying attempt to misrepresent India’s largest minority community". He stressed that Urdu is a secular language spoken by Indians of many faiths.

 

Beyond the dropdown error, teachers have questioned the terminology DU employs on official forms. “The term ‘mother tongue’ is colloquial. Academic institutions should instead use ‘native language’ or ‘first language’ for clarity,” a professor from the English department said.

 

DU launches course on love, jealousy

 

Earlier this month, Delhi University announced that it will introduce a unique course titled 'Negotiating Intimate Relationships' for undergraduate students across disciplines from the 2025–26 academic session. Designed by the Department of Psychology, it will address Gen-Z's struggles with love, breakups, and emotional health. “The course will cover romance, friendship, jealousy, and heartbreak,” DU said.   

 

  With three lectures and a tutorial each week, it is open to Class XII graduates with basic psychology knowledge. The initiative follows a spate of violent crimes in Delhi linked to toxic relationships, underscoring the urgent need for emotional literacy among youth.

 

(With agency inputs)