The Delhi University’s Standing Committee on Academic Matters on Wednesday resolved to recommend removing three books by Dalit writer-activist Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd from the political science syllabus because of their “controversial content”, PTI reported. The committee has also suggested discontinuing the use of the word “Dalit” in academic discourse.

The Academic Council at the university has yet to approve the decision. Committee member Professor Hansraj Suman said the books Why I Am Not A Hindu, Buffalo Nationalism, and Post-Hindu India were removed from the course as they were insulting to Hinduism, The Indian Express reported.

“The writer is known more for his controversies than for his academic contribution,” Geeta Bhatt, another committee member told the Hindustan Times. “There is no academic value attached to the content of these books. However, we are not restricting anyone from reading it. The books are easily available in markets and online.”

Shepherd said the decision taken by the university was unfortunate, and that the “right wing does not want plural ideas in academic discourse”, PTI reported. “These books are a part of the syllabus of foreign universities like Cambridge and even other universities across India,” Shepherd said. “They are used in Delhi University as reference books as well as course material. It is a very unfortunate move. Under the Bharatiya Janata Party government, academic autonomy is getting destroyed.”

The decision was anti-academic and part of the larger agenda of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the BJP to not allow plural ideas to be taught in the universities, he said in a statement.

“Universities are meant for teaching and debating diversified ideas, concepts,” said Shepherd. “Hundreds of thoughts must clash there. Universities are not theological institutes where only one religious ideas are taught.”

Meanwhile, the committee also objected to the use of the word Dalit in a paper titled “Dalit Bahujan Political Thought”. “We raised objections over it and suggested the department to replace “Dalit” with words like ‘bahujan’ or ‘ambedkarwadi’ or ‘scheduled caste’,” Suman told the Hindustan Times.