Image courtesy: Free Press Journal
A government-run law college in Indore has taken six teachers, including four Muslims, off duty temporarily on complaints by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) who accused them of promoting fundamentalism and ‘negative thoughts’ about the government and Army. The ABVP is an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
These teachers will now not be allowed to teach classes for five days while a judicial inquiry is conducted into the allegations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated student union, the college principal said on Thursday, December 1.
Activists of the ABVP, the wing of the RSS, created a controversy on the campus of Shasakiya Navin Vidhi Mahavidyalay (Government New Law College) on Thursday, demanding action against four Muslim and two Hindu teachers.
It was Dipendra Thakur, head of the ABVP unit at the college, who alleged in a complaint to principal Dr Inamur Rahman that some teachers promoted ‘religious fundamentalism and negative thoughts about the government and the Army’ among first-year students. Further he also said that on Fridays, the principal, Muslim teachers and students offer namaaz and during this time classes are not held.
‘Love jihad’ and ‘non-vegetarianism’ was being promoted on campus, the complaint further added. Love Jihad is a vilifying term used by right-wing Hindu groups which claim that there is a ‘conspiracy’ to lure Hindu girls into marriage and convert them to Islam.
Principal Rahman refuted the allegations saying that the atmosphere in the college was not like that described in the complaint. However he conceded to an inquiry.
“As the ABVP’s complaint is serious, I have decided that an inquiry should be conducted by a retired judge of the district court,” he told the media. To ensure that the inquiry can be conducted in a fair manner, the six teachers who faced accusations have been taken off duty for five days, he said.
As to the two Hindu teachers among them, he said the ABVP has accused them of behaving in autocratic way and not talking properly with students. A government-run law college here on Thursday took six teachers including four Muslims off duty temporarily after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) accused them of promoting fundamentalism and “negative thoughts” about the government and Army.
Now, thanks to the ABVP complaint, these six teachers would not teach classes for five days while a judicial inquiry is conducted into the allegations of the RSS-affiliated student union, the college principal said.
Related:
ABVP goons allegedly attack protesting students: Delhi University (DU)
Tripura: ABVP leader attacked, Section 144 imposed in 2 subdivisions