The Calicut University’s Board of Studies for undergraduate Malayalam courses has officially rejected recommendations from prominent academic M.M. Basheer, firmly upholding its decision to feature songs by rapper Hirandas Murali (known as Vedan) and singer Gowry Lekshmi in the third-semester B.A. Malayalam syllabus. This report was submitted to Vice-Chancellor P. Raveendran on September 29.
The controversy began after A.K. Anuraj, a Syndicate member affiliated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Save University Campaign Committee, lodged complaints against these inclusions. In response, Vice-Chancellor P. Raveendran consulted M.M. Basheer, the university’s retired Head of the Department of Malayalam. Mr. Basheer argued that a direct comparison between Vedan’s “Bhumi Njan Vazhunna Idam” and Michael Jackson’s “They Don’t Care About Us” was unnecessary and that evaluating their “literary peculiarities” seemed out of place. He also advised removing the comparative study of Kathakali and Carnatic music, specifically regarding Ms. Lekshmi’s rendition of “Ajitha Hare Madhava,” citing the perceived difficulty for B.A. Malayalam students lacking specialized musical training to effectively compare them.
The Board, however, countered these points in its report. It clarified that Ms. Lekshmi’s song should be viewed as a “music video” or “music album” rather than a piece of “classical music.” Furthermore, the Board defended the comparative study, explaining that while Jackson’s song powerfully addresses the history of racial injustice in the U.S., Vedan’s work delves into critical human rights issues across Syria, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Congo, Somalia, Myanmar, Palestine, China, and other global and national concerns. The report concluded that a comparative analysis is indeed relevant and appropriate given the thematic similarities and shared approach in addressing social issues by both artists.