The Board of Studies for undergraduate courses in Malayalam in the University of Calicut has submitted a report to Vice-Chancellor P. Raveendran dismissing the suggestions by veteran academic M.M. Basheer against the inclusion of songs by rapper Hirandas Murali, popularly known as Vedan, and singer Gowry Lekshmi in the third semester B.A. Malayalam syllabus.
The report was submitted on September 29. Mr. Raveendran had sought the opinion of Mr. Basheer, retired Head of the Department of Malayalam at the university, on the issue after A.K. Anuraj, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-aligned Syndicate member and Save University Campaign Committee filed complaints against the inclusion of the songs. Mr. Basheer suggested that the syllabus did not demand a comparison of Vedan’s song Bhumi njan vazhunna idam and Michael Jackson’s song They don’t care about us and an analysis and evaluation of their literary peculiarities were irrelevant. He also suggested that a comparative study of Kathakali music and Carnatic music citing Ms. Lekshmi’s rendition of Ajitha Hare Madhava could also be removed as it would be tough to ask the BA Malayalam students not trained in these musical streams to compare them.
However, the board pointed out in its report that Ms. Lekshmi’s rendition of the song should be considered in the genre of a “music video” or a “music album” and not as part of “classical music.” While Jackson’s song highlighted the history of the resistance against racial injustice in the U.S., Vedan’s song discussed the human rights issues in Syria, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Congo, Somalia, Myanmar, Palestine, and China and other national and international issues. A comparative study is appropriate because of the similarities in their approach, the report said.
Published – October 04, 2025 07:19 pm is