In a first, LU academic session to open with Saraswati puja

LUCKNOW: In a departure from convention, the new academic session of Lucknow University will begin with a grand Saraswati puja on July 10.

LU vice-chancellor SP Singh said Saraswati puja would be organised on July 10 for which a plan would be chalked out on Tuesday.

A senior official close to the VC said: “We will organise the programme at Saraswati Vatika, adjacent to the student union building, near gate number 1. We will invite teachers, students and employees to take part in the puja before the start of the academic session.”

According to sources at LU, several VCs of state varsities were keen on starting the new session from Monday (July 9) but deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma insisted that the session should begin on Tuesday (July 10), the day of Lord Hanuman.

The LU VC insisted that one

should not confuse Saraswati puja with saffronisation of education.

“It has nothing to do with religion. Our idea is to seek the blessings of the goddess of knowledge at the start of the academic session so that students and teachers may perform better,” Singh said.

When reminded that there was no such precedent of Saraswati puja on the campus, the VC said every new thing had to begin at some point of time.

“We light lamps and garland the photograph of goddess Saraswati in various functions that are held on the campus. Saraswati puja is just an extension to it,” he said. A number of aided degree colleges affiliated to the University of Lucknow organise Saraswati puja on Basant Panchami but the nearly a century old LU has not seen something like this in the past.

Opposing the move, former LU vice-chancellor Prof Roop Rekha Verma said: “Organising any religious function on the campus is highly objectionable. Festivals of any one religion should not be organised on the campus.”

“The university should not promote religious fundamentalism. Instead, it should be the harbinger of new ideas and thoughts. The VC should stress on improving the quality of research and ensuring regular teaching on the campus,” she said.

A BA-I student, who did not wish to be named, said: “I have taken admission here only for studies. I neither welcome nor reject the idea of Saraswati puja on the c ampus. Students want regular teaching.”

The new academic session will see a number of new initiatives. In a first, semester system in undergraduate courses is being introduced in the university and 166 degree colleges affiliated to it.