Background

The controversy surrounding Prof. Harijan began when he posted a critical message on social media, where he voiced concerns over certain Hindu deities, arguing that some religious figures perpetuate caste-based discrimination and superstition. His remarks quickly ignited a firestorm of online criticism, with numerous groups accusing him of insulting Hindu sentiments. The backlash led to widespread condemnation, and the issue escalated further when members of the university’s academic community weighed in.

Though Prof. Harijan issued a public apology for his statements, the response from the public remained largely hostile, prompting the university administration to take formal action. On October 3, during a meeting of the Executive Council of Allahabad University, chaired by Vice-Chancellor Prof. Sangita Srivastava, the council discussed measures to address the situation. In their deliberations, they concluded that any action by university personnel that could tarnish the institution’s image would not be tolerated. As part of this, the council introduced stricter guidelines for all university staff, particularly faculty members. These guidelines included the stipulation that all faculty members must seek prior approval from the Vice-Chancellor before posting content related to the university on social media.

Despite the official apology and efforts to resolve the issue, the matter took a more serious turn on November 14. Registrar Prof. Ashish Khare issued a formal warning to Prof. Harijan. The notice, which was based on the findings and recommendations of the Executive Council, advised the professor to refrain from making any further provocative remarks on sensitive issues like religion and culture. The notice stated that such actions, particularly those made on public or social media platforms, could potentially harm the reputation of Allahabad University. The warning also emphasized that continued behavior of this nature would result in severe disciplinary actions, in line with the institution’s procedural norms.

Prof. Harijan’s unapologetic stance

According to Mooknayak, Prof. Harijan remained unapologetic about his stance on caste-based discrimination and superstition. He emphasized that his critical remarks were directed not at individuals but at the broader social and religious structures that perpetuate inequality and marginalization.

“If religion and caste promote superstition and discrimination, I will speak out against them, and I will continue to do so. Receiving a notice has not deterred me,” Prof. Harijan stated firmly. He clarified that his views were not aimed solely at Hinduism but extended to all religions that, in his opinion, sustain caste hierarchies and exclusionary practices. “I speak against all religions that encourage discrimination, whether it is Hinduism, Islam, or Sikhism. My focus is on marginalized communities who remain excluded across all religious frameworks,” he explained, as reported Mooknayak.

However, Prof. Harijan’s criticism of religious structures is not new. Throughout his academic career, he has been vocal about the intersections of caste, religion, and social justice. His academic work and public remarks challenge the traditional norms that many in India consider sacred. The professor’s unwavering stance on caste discrimination and his refusal to be silenced by university authorities have made him a polarizing figure.

In the aftermath of the notice, Prof. Harijan’s supporters have rallied behind him, lauding his courage to speak out against the social evils of casteism and superstition. Many students and faculty members at Allahabad University have voiced their admiration for Harijan’s commitment to social justice, noting that his contributions to the academic environment have been invaluable in raising awareness about marginalized communities and their struggles.

Allahabad University’s formal notice, and Prof. Harijan’s response, have reignited a larger debate about the freedom of expression, particularly for academics, and the role of universities in shaping public discourse. The incident also raises important questions about the limits of academic freedom, especially when it comes to discussions that challenge deeply held cultural and religious beliefs.

As the situation unfolds, it remains to be seen how the university will balance the need to protect its reputation with the rights of its faculty members to express their academic and personal views. However, one thing is clear: Prof. Harijan’s resolve to address caste discrimination, superstition, and social inequities shows no signs of waning, and his actions will undoubtedly continue to provoke thought and controversy in the academic community and beyond.

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Prayagraj: Security personnel stand guard during a protest by Allahabad University students that erupted after a students’ leader allegedly stopped from entering the campus on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. (PTI Photo)

Lucknow: Several students were injured in Allahabad University after violence broke out on the campus late Monday evening. This followed a tense day between two groups – student leaders and security guards – with the former alleging an attempt to stop a former student leader entering the campus and manhandling him and the latter alleging that the said leader slapped the guard for stopping him.

Visuals emerged on social media from the campus showing a student with a bloodied forehead, another with injuries on his back, and a third with a bleeding palm. Two cars were damaged and motorcycles were torched in violence, said reports.

Police intervened to manage the intensified scuffle between the guards and students. But, as per some eyewitnesses, security guards opened fire as the clash intensified, which injured around six students and some policemen.

“It was around 2:30 pm. Vivekanand Pathak, a former student leader of Allahabad University, along with his wife, came to the SBI bank branch inside the campus. However, a security guard stopped his car and refused to let him enter. Pathak called up a bank employee and told the guard to speak to him. If “you do not believe me talk to him, he is a bank employee”, he said. At this, the guard threw the mobile away and started abusing Pathak. When the argument escalated, the guard attacked Pathak with the butt of his gun,” Ajay Yadav Samrat, a student leader and eyewitness told NewsClick.

He added: “Seeing this, some students nearby came and rescued Pathak. Later, the guards went to the proctor’s office and nearly after an hour, they came with an iron rod, pistol, hockey stick, etc. They were around 250 in number and not a single guard was empty handed; they came with the intention to kill the students. There must have been about 5-6 rounds of firing,” alleged Samrat, who has been part of the protest in the campus for the past one year against fee hike and restoration of the students’ union.

“The question is, where did the security guards get the weapon and rod from? If they are not arrested within 24 hours, we will intensify our protest. Action against administration should also be taken, at whose behest the guards attacked,” alleged Samrat.

Pathak, the ex-student leader, has also been part of a prolonged protest at the campus over fee hike that has been going on for the past 882 days led by Samrat. The students allege that the fees for undergraduate courses, which was Rs 975 a year, has been hiked over 300% to Rs 4,151.

Harendra Yadav, a native of Ghazipur, who is pursuing Masters from Allahabad University and was injured during the violence, told NewsClick: “The proctorial team intervened to pacify the situation between the security guards and student leaders. Things were sorted out. We asked Pathak to bring sweets to distribute to those who were present on the ground. Later, the same guards who were waiting for sweets, came with iron rods, pistols and hockey stick and started beating us black and blue. I nearly escaped being lynched.”

An FIR, accessed by NewsClick, has been registered against six students including Harendra Yadav, Vivekanand Pathak, Ajay Yadav Samrat, Abhishek Yadav, Rahul Patel, Navneet Singh, Satyam Kushwaha in a case under Section 147, 323, 336, 427, 435, 504, 392 of Indian Penal Code (IPC).

“We were beaten by the security guards mercilessly and have also booked by the administration. It was a riot-like situation,” said Sumit Singh, an eyewitness who lives on the campus and said his wife was chased by the mob. She escaped unhurt.

Meanwhile, an official statement from Allahabad University said it will remain shut on Tuesday in wake of the violence as “unknown elements” broke open the locks of the university gates that resulted in the clash between them and guards.

“In view of the unfortunate incidents of violence and serious misconduct that has taken place today, wherein unknown elements broke open the locks of the University gates which resulted in violence between them and the Guards. Stone pelting and torching of vehicles have led to a panic-stricken situation, work in University shall remain suspended tomorrow i.e. 20 of December 2022. This is issued with the approval of Hon’ble Vice Chancellor,” the official statement issued by Allahabad University stated.

Meanwhile, a general house meeting was organised where senior students and ex-student leaders were present to decide the future course of action.

Commenting over the incident, Richa Singh, a former student and the first woman president of the Allahabad University Students’ Union, who was present in the meeting, told NewsClick: “It was the first time in the history of Allahabad University that students were beaten with rods, that too in front of the police. This was a pre-planned strategy to discredit the ongoing protest which has been going on for more than a year in democratic and Gandhian way. It is shameful that instead of dialogue and communication with students, the administration chose violence,” she said, adding that university is a place of discussion not a violence, but the administration was leaving no stone unturned to turn this place into a battleground.

“The university administration should take moral responsibility for the violence and should take strict action against those involved in firing at the students. If the culprits are not booked, the university will witness massive protests from tomorrow,” she added.

The former students’ union president said that for the past two years, dozens of cases have been registered against students in different cases. “By doing so, the administration was trying to make students into goonda (criminals), which they will not let happen,” Singh added.

NewsClick attempted to contact the university spokesperson and proctor via calls and messages, but failed to receive a response.

However, an official deputed on the campus told NewsClick: “The situation is now under control. There are minor injuries. A few of them have been taken to hospital and are recuperating well. We have stepped up deployment at the campus.” The official added that students from both sides were injured in the clash, including the ones who had tried to stop the violence.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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Lucknow: Allahabad University (AU) students under the banner of Chhatrasangh Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti have been  protesting the proposed fees hike in the 2022-23 session for the last 11 days. They have allege that the UG course fees has been hiked by almost four times. 

Students from various courses gathered on the campus, shouted slogans against the university administration and demanded rollback of the fees hike on Monday.

The students fear that the decision will rob a large number of students from the disadvantaged socio-economic background belonging to eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar of the opportunity to study at AU.

“We have been protesting for 10 days and are on a fast unto death for seven days. Five students have been hospitalised after their health deteriorated. Yet we have not got any positive response from the university administration. This shows the university’s callous attitude,” Harendra Yadav, one of the protesting students told Newsclick.

“Fees have been increased by up to four times despite the majority of students belonging to families of farm labourers and marginal farmers,” Yadav alleged.

The Executive Council, AU’s top-most decision-making body, approved the proposal of hiking the fees of different courses on August 31.

The annual fees for bachelor of arts and bachelor of commerce has been increased from Rs 975 to Rs 3,701, which adds up to Rs 11,103 for three years. Similarly, the annual fees for bachelor of science (BSc) and BSc (medical laboratory technology) has been increased from Rs 1,125 to Rs 4,151 and Rs 3,951, respectively. The annual fees for BTech has been hiked from Rs 1,941 to Rs 5,151. 

“The proposed fees hike will force nearly half of the students to drop out. Nearly, 50% of students have a monthly family income lower than the fees proposed in the draft manual,” Ajay Yadav Samrat, another protesting student, told Newsclick. 

According to the students, AU has produced generations of socially conscious citizens and nation builders due to its low fees structure, which attracted students from backward regions and marginalised sections. This “blossoming of talent at an affordable cost is being attacked”, they alleged adding that “it is not acceptable”. 

The students also demanded refund of fees charged for hostels and mess, which were not used during the pandemic. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed all universities and colleges to refund the hostel and mess fees charged during the pandemic at the earliest or adjust it in other fees and has warned of action if the instructions aren’t followed. 

“We paid hostel and mess charges during COVID-19. But despite the UGC order, the administration has not refunded us the money and increased fees,” Yadav added. 

However, vice-chancellor Sangita Srivastava has justified the fees hike. “The monthly fees at AU for the past 110 years has been Rs 12. In order to pay electricity bills and other maintenance charges, a hike in the fees was due for the last several years,” she said in a press statement.

Pointing out how “private institutes have become major players in education and charge exorbitant fees”, Srivastava said, “If the little fees hike is causing so much problem to the stakeholders, they should realise that institutions providing education at such low fees shall perish in due course.”

The university administration claimed that AU remains committed to providing quality education and research on par with the best across the world. AU’s public relation officer Jaya Kapoor told Newsclick that the university is steadily reviving with recruitment of new faculty members, renovation of old buildings and a cleaner campus.

“But there is a clear message from the government that the university needs to generate funds and reduce its dependence on government funds. Despite facing a funding crunch like other institutions, AU has desisted from raising fees for the past many years,” Kapoor said.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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The students sat on a relay hunger strike on June 27. The students have been protesting for three days, following this decision of Academic Council (AC). The AC took this decision on June 24 which is scheduled to be implemented after the Executive Council’s meeting scheduled for June 29.

In this regard, the AU also submitted an affidavit in the Allahabad High Court in May, informing the court of its decision and emphasised that its decision is in accordance with the Lyngdoh committee guidelines.

The authorities have argued that the university campus is not conducive to conduct ‘free and fair’ elections. AU PRO Chitranjan Kumar said, “In accordance with the clause 6.1.2 of the Lyngdoh committee recommendations wherein it’s mentioned ‘where the atmosphere of the university campus is adverse to the conduct of peaceful, free and fair elections, the university must initiate a system of student representation based on nominatioons, especially where elections are being held at present” 

This is not the first attempt to quell the students’ rights to form a union in the campus. In 2005, Kamlesh Yadav who was to fight the elections, was murdered. After this episode, the student union elections were banned. On December 22, 2011, the union was reinstated and student union elections could take place again in 2012-13.

Former presidents of students unions have warned about this move and said that it will lead to movements.

Allahabad University has remained a hub of student politics and has seen many students’ movements and agitations in the recent past. In 2018, reportedly, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav was stopped from boarding a plane when he was on his way to Allahabad University for the swearing in ceremony of a student leader. At that time, he had given a statement that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its leaders were “considering the Allahabad University elections as their own elections.”

Former president of the student union and youth leader Richa Singh tweeted, “In violation of all democratic norms and fundamental right (Right to Union), the Student Union Elections have been banned in University of Allahabad. Union govt. is hell bent on suppressing all voices of dissent and democratic institutions.”

She said that though administration is saying that the students’ union disrupts the studies in the university, it’s never been the case. “The students’ union has always worked for the welfare of the students and fought for their rights. It is the university that gives admission to anti-social elements who disrupt the environment in the campus and the administration uses them for their own benefits,” she said.

She also highlighted several serious lapses on the part of the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Ratan Lal Hangloo. The VC has, in the past been accused of sexual misconduct. He has also been accused of hiring other people who have been the accused of sexual misconduct.

She added, “I was the first female president of the AU students’ union. I come from a family with no political background. The students’ union gave me a chance to develop my leadership skills and start a political career. They are taking away the right of women, students from religious minorities, and oppressed sections from non-political backgrounds to participate in mainstream politics, because student politics helps them develop the basic skills before they can delve into a political career.”

The students have alleged that since the BJP government came to power in the country in 2014, they have viciously attacked the students and the youth. There have been repeated attacks on public-funded higher educational institutes. Singh said, “The country has witnessed massive student movements in the last five years. Not only that, the students have been at the forefront of almost all major movements. We are the ones that raise important issues, and question the authorities. It is no wonder that they want to silence us.”
 

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Image: Twitter/@yadavakhilesh
 
It is disturbing how the ruling government wants University campuses to remain ‘apolitical’ by using promoting and encouraging jingoism, irrationality and toxic Hindutva ideology.
 
The entire student gathering benefits if Akhilesh Yadav, President of the main opposition party in Uttar Pradesh and a former chief minister, is invited to speak at a student gathering.
 
How productive is it to stop students from discussing politics when they are always in the thick of it? Instead, allow political leaders to talk to them about the policies and reference political parties without naming them. It will be of tremendous use.
 
This was a principle and it was broken by the BJP. Anyone who was not them was anti-national. Once you break the norms, you will be thoroughly isolated in the political circles once your days are done but the BJP feels that it is here to rule India forever. Every politician in the party became a megalomaniac.
 
The simple question is why was Akhilesh Yadav not allowed to board his flight from Lucknow to Allahabad to speak to the students? The argument that UP CM Yogi Adityanath gave was that the ongoing Kumbh Mela would be disturbed because of goons who are Samajwadi Party workers. He accused them of trying to disturb the peace and creating anarchy there to defame the state government.
 
Now, this is not only absurd but below the dignity of the person who holds the chief ministerial position. After assuming charge of Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Yogi Adityanath has only spoken foul of his opponents. He got the chief minister’s bungalow sprinkled by Ganga water for purification, which exposed his narrow feudal Brahmanical mind. To be fair to Akhilesh Yadav, he has been among the most ‘accessible’ leaders in Uttar Pradesh who tried to build up a modern agenda for the state, even ignoring some of the core issues of his party, particularly the vast OBC reservation issues which he is now raising. Akhilesh Yadav has certainly gone far ahead of his father Mulayam Singh Yadav, though he remained the most accepted leader with a great network of old loyalists.
 
What is highly disturbing is that Adityanath expressed ‘fear’ that Akhilesh Yadav’s campus visit would create a riotous situation. Yes, it is possible, if those encouraged by his ‘toxic’ thought do not disturb the meeting. BJP would be the last party to talk of sanity. Its cadres have become loudmouth and a situation is now brewing where people will lose their patience for such tactics.
 
Stopping Akhilesh Yadav is a pattern which is being witnessed everywhere. Those who the government thinks are opponents to its toxic ideology are being denied to speak at campuses. Veteran film actor Amol Palekar was stopped from airing his political views at the NGMA in Mumbai while Jignesh Mewani, the independent MLA in Gujarat was not allowed to speak at his former college.
 
Universities and colleges are the places where students discuss politics and should be doing so. These are the places for discussions and debates and to encourage students to make their own views about politics. To stop them from thinking and denying people to read particular books of ideologies, are the fear of those in power that the students will get radicalised. Now, there was a time when the term ‘radical’ was always considered progressive than those who are moronic and have no question to ask. It is only possible for those who have become ‘bhakts’ or devotees. Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar had famously said once that bhakti in spiritual life may take you towards salvation but in politics, bhakti will only take you to destruction.
 
The power today does not want the new young to think and speak. They don’t want you to debate and discuss politics, the issues confronting our society and nation. When our Parliament and assemblies do not discuss the issues important for the well being of our nation seriously, the campuses in the Universities or seminar halls of the institutions will have to take charge. You cannot stop thought processes and questioning ability.
 
It is good to invite political leaders to explain their political position. Let the students speak to them and ask questions. Let these programs rise above party program.
 
Moreover, I would definitely want the campuses engaged with thought leaders, with more thinkers and ideologues, which will definitely be good for all of us.
 
When we engage with people on a discussion table, we have space to agree and disagree. That space in a democracy is the most powerful.
 
I can bet people get violent when there are no spaces for dialogue.
 
That space needs to be not only protected but also made available to all. When the space for discussion and dialogue disappears then the age of ‘cult’ appears and we follow it mindlessly. We do not question. The leader speaks to us. We listen and go back home. It is a monologue which we have become historically habituated to.
 
The baba’s speak on TV. That is a monologue.
 
That is why we say, technology can provide you information but it is still a monologue. It can’t listen to you. You can’t share your sorrows and happiness with anyone including technology.
 
Therefore, the essence of dialogue, discussions and debate strengthen our democratic process because of mutual learning.
 
The baba’s, the priests won’t like you to think because once you become a thinker, you will ask questions. Their shops will be closed. They will have to resolve the issues, raise those issues in Parliament and assemblies.
 
That is why they want to stop everything which makes the young think.
 
The question is:
 
Can they stop students and youth from growing in numbers?
 
Can they stop the forces of nature which make humans urge for interaction and communication with others?
 
Can they stop us from thinking?
 
None of it is possible. If it was possible we would be stagnant rocks.
 
I am sure, we all wish to speak, engage, think and act.
 
The babas of our politics must know that. The sooner they know it, the better it is for everyone.
 
Change is inevitable. It is the process of life. People will question. Young will rise and rebel to change the system.
 
The day will come when we will be the change for the betterment of society and no power on earth has the capacity to stop that.
 

The post Opinion: Why does the ruling party stop students from asking questions? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: Newsclick.in

Allahabad: After hearing the results of the student union elections at Allahabad University on Friday, RSS affiliate Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad members torched hostel rooms and threw crude bombs.
 
ABVP had to face defeat in the Allahabad University Students’ Union (AUSU) elections as Samajwadi Party-affiliated students won majority posts. In a clear message of the time to come and the answer to Mohan Bhagwat’s attack on the constitution, the results were especially shocking for ABVP as they had led a high decibel campaign for the polls.
 
“Uday Prakash Yadav of the Samajwadi Chatra Sabha (SCS) defeated his ABVP rival Atendra Singh by 774 votes. Akhilesh Yadav of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) bagged the vice president’s seat by securing 2,157 votes. ABVP managed to win only one post. Its candidate Shivam Singh secured 2,823 votes to be elected as general secretary, while the joint secretary post went to Satyam Singh aka Sunny of the SCS. The cultural secretary post was bagged by NSUI’s Aditya Singh, who got 1,832 votes,” reported New Click.
 
Hostel rooms of the newly elected President Uday Prakash Yadav and former President Awanish Yadav in the Holland Hall hostel were burned among other rooms. Awanish’s car was also set on fire. A lot of furniture, documents, and clothes were gutted in the fire.
 
Witnesses also spoke about supporters of losing ABVP candidates threw crude bombs and burned other vehicles like motorbikes as well.
 
Speaking with Newsclick, newly elected president Uday Prakash Yadav said, “ABVP’s candidate for president, Atendra Pratap Singh, along with more than seven other ABVP members entered the Holland Hall hostel, and started a brawl when they found out that they have been defeated by a wide margin. This is RSS’s agenda and they are executing it inside the university. It was all pre-planned. My room was set on fire.”
 
“Some unidentified persons also exploded crude bombs at KPUC Hostel gate in which inspector Daraganj Vineet Singh was injured. Police sources said at least four persons have been detained in connection with the arson at Holland Hall Hostel,” reported Hindustan Times.
 
Uday Prakash Yadav said that the police did not act promptly to the incident. “This is not an ordinary incident. But the police administration is silent because the BJP, known for its misuse of government machinery, has induced a cracking defeat,” said Yadav, who is a first-year law student from Deoria in a report by The Hindu.
 
The situation was brought under control after the police began their lathi charge and arrested some students from the scene. The situation remains tense at the university.

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Allahabad: In a scathing letter to the President of India, the former teachers and office bearers of Allahabad University (AUTA) and constituent colleges (AUCCTA) wrote about the grave misdemeanours of Vice-Chancellor of AU Prof. Rattan Lal Hangloo.
 
Addressed to the Hon’ble Visitor of AU (The President) the letter spoke about the shocking revelations about the VC three years in office and how he misused his post for an exhaustive list of illegal activities.
 
“The facts of the Vice-Chancellor’s indecorous personal conduct involve the seeking of personal intimate favours from an individual by proffering employment and promising career-building opportunities. This sordid episode, and the outrage it has engendered in the members of the University community (students, alumni, and serving and former teachers and employees) as well as concerned citizens and well-wishers of the institution, are in the public domain, for they have been covered in graphic presentations in the print, electronic and social media,” the letter said.
 
In an earlier report, it was revealed that Hangloo had sent objectionable texts to a young Delhi scholar and promised her a career at the university.
 
In the letter, many noted the fact that concerned dignitaries and offices ignored pleas to investigate Hangloo ever since he took office three years ago.
 
“In November 2017, the University of Allahabad Audit Committee, constituted by the University Grants Commission and chaired by Professor Gautam R. Desiraju (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore), for conducting academic, research, financial and infrastructural audit of the University, submitted a highly critical assessment of the working of Prof. Hangloo as Vice-Chancellor, in the following words: The present incumbent Prof. Hangloo is certainly a bold person, but he is not a leader who is capable of taking everyone along and he has allowed his time to be filled with daily fire fighting of one problem or another. He has proved himself to be a poor manager and has not been able to delegate authority and decentralize his administration. From what the Committee could observe during its brief visit, he is running the University with a small coterie. However, he seems to have lost touch with the rank and file of UA, notably with teachers and students. Management is an all-important but little recognized component of University administration in India. There is no management in UA; just a hopping from one crisis to the next. In such a scenario, there is no room for long range vision,” the letter said.
 
They added that the Audit Committee Report is lying in cold storage and no action was taken.
 
“The circumstances that have come to the fore in the past few days add urgency to the need for the Hon’ble Visitor’s establishment and the Department of Higher Education (MHRD) to intervene decisively and resolve the long simmering crisis in the University of Allahabad on account of the misguided and destructive commissions and omissions of Prof. Rattan Lal Hangloo,” The former teachers of AUTA and AUCCTA said.
 

Full text of open letter:

 
OPEN LETTER ON THE CRISIS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALLAHABAD
 
The Hon’ble Visitor
University of Allahabad
President’s Secretariat (Rashtrapati Bhawan)
NEW DELHI.
 
Sir,
 
On the eve of the 131st Foundation Day of the University of Allahabad, the under-noted former and serving teachers of the University of Allahabad and its Constituent Colleges, who are or have been office-bearers of the Teachers’ Associations of the University and its Constituent Colleges, respectfully seek to invite your kind attention by means of this Open Letter to certain crucial aspects of the present institutional predicament of the University, arising proximately from shocking revelations of grave improprieties by the Vice-Chancellor Prof. Rattan Lal Hangloo, and cumulatively from the general expositions of the manifestly freewheeling mode of his working over the past three years.
 
2.  The facts of the Vice-Chancellor’s indecorous personal conduct involve the seeking of personal intimate favours from an individual by proffering employment and promising career-building opportunities. This sordid episode, and the outrage it has engendered in the members of the University community (students, alumni, and serving and former teachers and employees) as well as concerned citizens and well-wishers of the institution, are in the public domain, for they have been covered in graphic presentations in the print, electronic and social media. These have also been communicated by different sources to the Hon’ble Visitor’s establishment, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and other agencies of the Government of India. Some of the individuals subscribing to this Open Letter have also conveyed their dismay over the style and substance of his administrative and financial transactions in separate communications to higher authorities, but have experienced a disheartening absence of critical engagement on the part of the concerned dignitaries and offices with the transgressions of Prof. Hangloo which have also been in glaring public spotlight for almost three years, from his earliest days in office.
 
3. We do not wish to give credence to widespread speculations on the considerations that have led to the apparent indifference on the part of the ‘regulators’ towards Prof. Hangloo’s trespasses, but would like to merely underscore the grievous institutional costs of this detachment. In fact, the circumstances preceding Prof. Hangloo’s selection and appointment as Vice-Chancellor and the alleged role of certain important personages in the same, as well as the general ambience of lack of accountability on the part of members of selection boards for high offices in the higher education sector that have, in a way, facilitated his egregious record in office.
 
4.  We need not recount in detail the varieties of infractions of Prof. Hangloo as Vice-Chancellor, as the same are well-documented in the memoranda, representations and other submissions that have been filed with the Hon’ble Visitor and the Department of Higher Education. These must be available in the record. Moreover, the Department of Higher Education (MHRD) has preserved the Report submitted to the Hon’ble Visitor (the President of India) in August 2017 on the basis of review of the work and progress of the University under the stewardship of Prof. Hangloo, which made out a case for a Visitorial Inspection or Inquiry, under section 10(3) of the University of Allahabad Act, 2005. It is not known as to why this Report was not followed upon. Subsequently, in November 2017, the University of Allahabad Audit Committee, constituted by the University Grants Commission and chaired by Professor Gautam R. Desiraju (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore), for conducting academic, research, financial and infrastructural audit of the University, submitted a highly critical assessment of the working of Prof. Hangloo as Vice-Chancellor, in the following words:
The present incumbent Prof. Hangloo is certainly a bold person, but he is not a leader who is capable of taking everyone along and he has allowed his time to be filled with daily fire fighting of one problem or another. He has proved himself to be a poor manager and has not been able to delegate authority and decentralize his administration. From what the Committee could observe during its brief visit, he is running the University with a small coterie. However, he seems to have lost touch with the rank and file of UA, notably with teachers and students. Management is an all-important but little recognized component of University administration in India. There is no management in UA; just a hopping from one crisis to the next. In such a scenario, there is no room for long range vision.
Nevertheless, the Audit Committee Report too is apparently in cold storage.
 
5.  The instruments (authoritative Reports, Memoranda, Representations and other Submissions) mentioned above have made out a compelling case for effective remedial action in respect of the unfortunate lapses and malpractices attributed to Prof. Hangloo as Vice-Chancellor.  These include the following, without exhausting the list of illegalities:
(i)  Large scale manoeuvrings in faculty recruitments and promotions in the university and the Constituent Colleges, especially in the screening / short-listing process, nomination of Experts, verification of academic credentials, presentation or interpretation of essential qualifications (including the definition of ‘good academic record’), assessment of research work  and publications, reporting of selection committee recommendations to the Executive Council / Management Committee, and persistent reports of the sale / auction of academic posts.
(ii)  Disregard, contravention or violation of statutory provisions and prescribed procedures in academic, administrative, financial and other corporate matters, and fiduciary malpractices. Such wrongdoings have inevitably led to legal challenges, and adverse Orders / Judgments of the Hon’ble High Court in Writ Petitions and Contempt of Court Applications, and the levying of costs/monetary fines or heavy payments to redeem dues. In some leading cases, Learned Benches of the Hon’ble High Court have recorded highly critical personal observations on Prof. Hangloo.
(iii)  By-passing of statutory bodies in decision-making, and securing their endorsement in policy and other matters by manipulating their memberships and /or misrepresenting / falsifying facts, rules, criteria, etc. This has rendered the University into an ‘island of insubordination to the Rule of Law’.
(iv)  Thinly-veiled or defiant manipulation of results of admission tests and regular University examinations, for extending benefits to favoured candidates. 
(v)  High-handedness in administrative matters, including unceremonious removal of statutory office-holders or other functionaries, and incumbents holding representative offices, on patently false grounds or by contrived changes in seniority lists and succession criteria, without recourse to due process and principles of natural justice, and without referring the concerned matter to the empowered statutory bodies. 
(vi)  Personal misbehaviour of Prof. Hangloo towards senior Faculty members in meetings, and his uncouth public humiliation of the faculty and other employees who have been assigned administrative functions or offices by him.  
 
6.  An unfortunate impression has been created that there is some diffidence in the higher decision making circles in respect of applying corrective measures for the grievous academic, institutional, moral and material injury to the University inflicted by Prof. Hangloo. We do not support this reaction, but do believe that the circumstances that have come to the fore in the past few days add urgency to the need for the Hon’ble Visitor’s establishment and the Department of Higher Education (MHRD) to intervene decisively and resolve the long simmering crisis in the University of Allahabad on account of the misguided and destructive commissions and omissions of Prof. Rattan Lal Hangloo.    
 
THIS OPEN LETTER IS BEING CIRCULATED BY:
 
Former Members / Office-Bearers of ALLAHABAD UNIVERSITY TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION (AUTA)
Prof. R. C Tripathi (Psychology Department): Former Vice-President; Former Member, University Grants Commission  
Prof. M. C. Chattopadhyaya (Chemistry Department): Former President
Pof. Ranjana Kakkar (Medieval and Modern History Department): Former President
Prof.  Ram Kishore Shastri (Sanskrit): Former President
Prof. G. C Tripathi (Economics): Former President
Prof. U. S. Rai (Economics): Former Vice-President
Prof. V. C. Pande: Former General Secretary
Prof. Arun Kumar Srivastava: Former General Secretary
 
Former Members / Office-Bearers of ALLAHABAD UNIVERSITY CONSTITUENT COLLEGES TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION (AUCCTA)
 
Dr Hemlata Srivastava: Former President, CMP College Teachers’ Association
Dr Sunil Sinha: Former Vice-President (AUCCTA)
Dr Dinesh Srivastava, Former Convenor, Economics
Dr Pradip Kumar Verma, Convenor Zoology
 

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Former Allahabad University Students Union President Richa Singh who is also a member of the Samajwadi Party was attacked with several of her fellow students activists at the Universty of Allahabad. In an exclusive telephonic interview to Sabrang India, Richa Singh said, “They lobbed bombs on campus to spread fear among students. They also categorically told us to stop speaking against the Vice Chancellor.”

The entire interview may be heard here:

 
Brief background of the case
On Monday September 17, student leader Avinash Dubey released a Whatsapp chat between Prof Hangloo and the Delhi based woman. Shortly afterwards, Rohit Mishra, the former President of the AU Students Union and current National Secretary of ABVP, released a 35 minute audio recording of a conversation between Prof Hangloo and the woman.

In the recording a man (who Mishra claims is Professor Hangloo) offers to use his influence to get the Delhi based woman a job. Sometimes during the discussion, the man is alleged to have crossed boundaries of professional decency and engaged in inappropriate and objectionable conversation. There are allegedly many similarities between the contents of the leaked Whatsapp chat and the audio conversation. Mishra claims he has 17 more such tapes.

Meanwhile, the AU pulic relations officer Chitranjan Kumar said, “It is the matter of probe whether what has been made public by Mishra is authentic or someone has mimic the voice of the VC, the entire issue has to be thoroughly inquired as it is nothing but the conspiracy to malign the image of the VC”.

Attacks on Student Leaders
It looks like there is no respite for student leaders in India, as this attack comes just a day after student activists and newly elected office bearers of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU) were brutally attacked by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in New Delhi. Whatever the catalyst and whoever the perpetrator, it appears that under the present ruling dispensation, student leaders are an easy target and university authorities are either ill equipped to protect them or not particularly committed to ensuring their safety.

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Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad [ABVP] and Bharatiya Janta Party [BJP] should remember what West Bengal did to Congress, not too long ago.
 
Congress Chief Minister Sidharth Shankar Ray over saw killings of thousands of young men and women in the seventies. Congress claimed to have killed ‘anti-national’ Naxals. People in Bengal, especially those who were part of the Left movement and those who lost their children, say – without using the word ‘allegedly’ – that Ray killed whoever he wanted to indiscriminately. He killed the students he thought were Naxal sympathizers. He killed many who challenged him politically. Almost any body who supported the strong farmer’s movement was [identified as the ‘enemy of the State’ and decimated] his target.
 
Ray primarily targeted a large section of the educated youth of West Bengal, the urban intelligentsia, the sympathisers and supporters of the peasant struggle. This was in the wake of Naxalbari uprising in North Bengal which was triggered by police firing on the peasants. The thinking, thriving, actively dreaming youth! When the young [People] died Bengal smelled of death for years! So did Sidharth Shankar Ray and his party, Congress…blood was never washed from their hands. Especially the blood of farmers and the youth.
 
So much so that the State was scared to pay him the honour that a Chief Minister deserves.
 
“The Tricolour flew at half-mast in Punjab on Monday for Siddhartha Shankar Ray, but not in Bengal, where the veteran Congress leader was born and the state he served as Chief Minister. The north Indian state gave its former Governor the honour he deserved but Ray was let down in the place he called his own. While the Punjab government promptly announced a two-day state mourning for Ray, the best Bengal could come up with was a local holiday on Monday. The gun salute by the State Armed Police during his last rites at Keoratala was merely to show respect to a dignitary. It was far less than the state funeral accorded to Jyoti Basu,” wrote Times Of India in its November 9 e-edition, 2010, soon after Ray’s demise.
 
Even Mamata Banerjee, the present Chief Minister of Bengal, who was known for her proximity to Ray, was ‘scared’ of Ray or Ray’s image. If the activists of Bengal are to be believed, Ms Banerjee “requested” Ray not to visit her during her marathon hunger strike in December 2006. Such was the ignominy Ray was exposed to for nearly 30 years after his rule, even while he was not always an inferior administrator.
 
Congress was such a shamed party in Bengal for so many decades that perhaps Ms Banerjee had little choice but to launch her own party. Perhaps she realised that it is impossible to win an election in Bengal from a party which has actively indulged in a genocide. So she launched a party, fought an election championing farmer’s right and defeated Communists. Perhaps the Communists made the same mistake. They stepped into the same shoe that Congress wore between 1972-1977. They started dictating terms with the same arrogance. Towards the end of their and thus like the party of the land owners– the Congress– they targeted Bengal’s peasants, who are still strongly attached to their farm land. They also actively antagonised the women, the minorities and the youth.In its regime of 35 long years, Communist Party of India Marxist (CPIM)  was  accused of not giving academic positions to non CPIM scholars. Not even to Marxist scholars who refused to subscribe to CPIM. 
 
BJP and its bachcha elements in ABVP and Viswa Hindu Parishad [VHP] show the same arrogance today being n ew to political power. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Their attack on FTII students, IIT students, Hyderabad Central University students, Benaras Hindu University students, Allahabad University students, Lucknow University teacher/students and of course Jawaharlal University students indicates that they think their sun will never set. The same arrogance that we have seen in other ruling parties in past.

 
What we are seeing in BJP additionally is its lack of political patience. Never before has a Government attacked the educated youth across the country so violently, openly, visibly. It is strange because one expected the popular Prime Minister to win over his detractors. What his people did instead is to alienate the ones who were with him! BJP and its associates have targeted the Dalits, the tribals, the minorities, the women. They have been so indiscriminate in their attacks that they have even attacked their own people  like Swadeshi Jagran Manch [SJM] – the economic wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh [RSS]. It has completely bypassed the advice of SJM while embracing FDI in nearly a dozen sectors. A quick visit to SJM’s website will illustrate the anger of SJM against Modi-Jaitley raj
 
Never before has a Government forced its ‘sleepy’ opposition to wake up so quickly. Never before has a Government created so many new educated leaders – across the country – to oppose them so soon. Never before has the nation been so strongly divided since independence into Caste Hindu and Dalits, Left and Right, Hindu and Muslim. The change is palpable in spite of most mainstream media houses working overtime to talk about how Bharat has become swatch/clean and strong.
 
A Government that works against its youth can’t have a future. You don’t touch anyone’s child if you want to rule their hearts. The socialist, Youth Congress and Leftist student band wagon have feudal, semi-feudal, corporate friendly parents back home. Many of them had voted for the ‘development friendly’ BJP Government. If you hit their children what will they do with your development?
 
What will Radhika Vemula do with our Prime Minister’s development Mantra? Is Najeeb’s mother thinking of development right now?
 
What West Bengal did to Congress…India may do to BJP if the attacks against its youth do not stop.
 
A nation needs its Left, Right and Center! It needs a good government and a strong opposition! The fight in our institutions is not a fight of ideology alone…ideology evolves. This a nasty battle for power…absolute power should stop, must stop.
 
Our humble suggestion thus to all the political parties is: Leave the kids alone!
Don’t push Rohith and now Najeeb’s mother…endlessly…ceaselessly…You are calling the mothers out on the streets and you know how that ends.
 
[1] SJM website: http://www.swadeshionline.in/
 

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