The Faculty Forum of IIT Bombay on Tuesday issued a statement condemning the threats and attempts to both intimidate and tarnish the reputation of Professor Sharmistha Saha of the Department of Humanities and Social Science.

A group named the Vivek Vichar Manch has claimed that Saha and guest speaker Sudhanva Deshpande had glorified Hamas during a discussion after the screening of a documentary film — Arna’s Children — at the IIT last week. In a strongly worded statement issued to the media and reported by The Telegraph, the forum has stated,

“The faculty forum is absolutely distressed with the tarnishing of the reputation and physical threats to one of our colleagues via anonymous phone calls, and posts on Social Media platforms. The allegations made in social media about her supporting HAMAS or terrorists are based on misinformation and falsehood,” the statement by the Faculty Forum said.

The Forum also said that it had discussed the issue with Saha and that she had denied the allegations. The film was screened by her as part of an ongoing postgraduate course due to its relevance to the art of healing children who have gone through trauma. Arna’s Children is a 2004 documentary about The Freedom Theatre founded by two Jewish theater personalities. The film has won several awards at international festivals and is available for free on YouTube. Deshpande, a theatre personality, was invited as a guest speaker to introduce the relevance of the film to the audience and for the post-screening discussion.

Sabrangindia had published the statement of Sudhanva Deshpande last week where he had detailed the various domensions of the malicious campaign, drawing out the nexus between those “students” responsible for the social media campaign andelectronic media channels like Times Now. That statement can be read here.

Ironically, a\A student, who was not part of the course, recorded the lecture session on his mobile phone despite being asked not to do so. “During the entire session, our colleague neither expressed any opinion about terrorism nor did she express any opinion about HAMAS. She was not able to respond either to the film or to the comments made by Mr Deshpande because of the intimidating atmosphere prevailing in the class. The recording (which was made despite her explicit denial) was put up on social media posts and was also shown on some TV channels,” the Faculty Forum statement further added.

A few people claiming to be associated with the Vivek Vichar Manch shouted slogans at the main gate of the IIT holding large hoardings bearing Saha’s name and photographs. They accused Saha of being a traitor, issued death threats to her and called for her removal from IIT Bombay.

“The Faculty Forum of IIT Bombay strongly condemns the following: Calls to violence against our colleague, use of her photograph and name in the hoardings, tarnishing her reputation in print, TV and social media through biased information and false claims that she supports HAMAS and terrorism,” the statement said.

Related:

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Filmmaker Sudhanva Deshpande releases statement accusing Times Now of spreading malicious misinformation against him

The post IIT-Bombay: Faculty backs professor over Hamas claims calling out the malicious campaign of misinformation & falsehood appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Deshpande, during his virtual lecture on September 6, mentioned Zakaria Zubeidi, a Palestinian activist who is currently in an Israeli prison, and designated the Palestinian  movement as a “freedom struggle.” Read Sudhanva Deshpande’s statement released after the controversy broke out here.

On November 6, a lecture was held at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) wherein a 2004 documentary film, ‘Arna’s Children’, made by Juliano Mer Khamis, an Israeli Jewish filmmaker, actor and theatre director was shown. As an introduction to the documentary, Deshpande had been invited to give a lecture by Prof. Saha. Certain students attending the lecture and otherwise have deemed the introductory lecture to be pro-Hamas and pro-violence. Furthermore, objections have been raised by some over the alleged glorification of “militant terrorists” by Deshpande. A complaint has now been registered against Prof. Saha, which questions the appropriateness of the professor’s actions in extending the invitation.

In his statement released on September  9, Sudhanva Deshpaande had explained, “ Zakaria Zubeidi is a former military commander of the armed wing of Fatah, the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades. Fatah is the political party founded by Yasser Arafat. When I met Zubeidi in Palestine in 2015, he had given up arms and was advocating cultural resistance. He had highlighted the value of culture in the Palestinian freedom struggle. He co-founded The Freedom Theatre in the West Bank to fulfil his vision. I had referred to Zubeidi as a ‘visionary’, because in his conversation with me, he envisaged a future where the entire territory of historic Palestine would be a single nation, in which ALL its citizens — Arabs, Jews, Christians, and others — would have equal rights.

The protesters, which included Vivek Tidke, a leader from Vivek Vichar Manch, demanded the immediate arrest of both Deshpande and the faculty member, accusing them of “glorifying terrorists and their heinous acts.”

According to its own website, the Vivek Vichar Manch is an organisation “dedicated to constitutional values.” In addition to this, they also claim to have a wing called Sawarkar Smarak Adhyasan Kendra.

According to Sabrang India’s sources, the protest did not have more than 10 students, and the total number of protestors, including passer-bys, was about 100. This suggests, according to the source, that there is a sustained effort to designate the protest by the group as one that reflects the sentiments of the larger student community at IIT-B.

The group of protestors who have organised the protest has furthermore filed a complaint against Deshpande with the city police. Israel’s consul general in Mumbai, Kobbi Shoshani, too voiced criticism against Deshpande’s  remarks.

Shocking to read about the screening of a documentary of terrorists at @IITBombay.

I am happy that alert students and office bearers of @iitbforbharat caught them red handed.

I will be happy to visit there and share the real. https://t.co/3TZCMJZQAO

— Kobbi Shoshani (@KobbiShoshani) November 8, 2023

At the protest against the event, Ashok Tidke condemned the event at the IIT-B campus, questioning why such incidents occur in a place where students have earned “global recognition”. Tidke specifically denounced the support of terrorism and spoke about “brainwashing,” especially among students from rural backgrounds who could be swayed by such perspectives.

Conversely, the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Circle, IIT-B, released a statement on X on November 11, asking if the “politics of hate” has become so “easy?” The post also alleges that slogans such as “Goli Maron Salon Ko” (Shoot these rascals) were also raised at the protest at the institute’s gate. This infamous slogan has been used by the extreme Hindutva right-wing after the February 2020 violence in Delhi, especially aimed at vilifying the minority-led anti-CAA, anti-NRC protests.

A tiny group of students, along with right wing political groups outside IITB, has been attempting to create an environment of fear in IIT Bombay campus, throughout this week. Has this politics of hate became so easy and obvious @PMOIndia? pic.twitter.com/VtXBrRb6yG

— APPSC IIT Bombay (@AppscIITb) November 11, 2023

What is this all about?

Earlier, on November 6, a programme was organised at the IIT-B which featured a 2004 documentary ‘Arna’s Children’ by Israeli filmmaker Juliano Mer Khamis. Deshpande, who was invited by a professor, provided the remarks and an introduction for the documentary, according to Sabrang India.

On November 9, 2023, in response to the escalating controversy, Deshpande has further issued a statement defending his comments and decrying what he labelled a “disinformation campaign” against him; he even decried the Times Now programme which featured his comments and described him as sympathising with “terrorists”. He further clarified in his statement that Zubeidi, formerly a military commander of Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, had renounced violence and was promoting cultural resistance during Deshpande’s meeting with him in Occupied Palestine in 2015, stating “I had referred to Zubeidi as a ‘visionary’, because in his conversation with me, he envisaged a future where the entire territory of historic Palestine would be a single nation, in which ALL its citizens – Arabs, Jews, Christians, and others – would have equal rights.”

Another  lecture on the Israel-Palestine conflict by writer and academician Achin Vanaik was also cancelled by the IIT-B administration. The last-minute cancellation and the complaint against Deshpande sparked criticism from the student community, who condemned the incident as an attack on “intimidation” and a loss of academic freedom.

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The post Right-wing group protests a talk on Palestine, demands faculty who organised event be arrested: IIT-Bombay appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On November 6, a lecture was held at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) wherein a 2004 documentary film, ‘Arna’s Children’, made by Juliano Mer Khamis, an Israeli Jewish filmmaker, actor and theatre director was shown. As an introduction to the documentary, Deshpande had been invited to give a lecture by Prof. Saha. Certain students attending the lecture and otherwise have deemed the introductory lecture to be pro-Hamas and pro-violence. Furthermore, objections have been raised by some over the alleged glorification of “militant terrorists” by Deshpande. A complaint has now been registered against Prof. Saha, which questions the appropriateness of the professor’s actions in extending the invitation.

What did the show entail?

On November 8, a programme was run by the Times Now with the title “IITians alleg Prof. Saha for inviting filmmaker who glorified Palestinian terrorist”. The show opened with the following statement- “Mumbai: Hamas Backers get a Stage”. The host can be heard stating that “the heart of the Hamas backers continue to bleed, not for the innocents butchered by them but for the terrorists who picked up arms in the garb of freedom.”

The host then states that a webinar was organised by Prof. Sharmistha Saha IIT-B wherein Sudhanva Deshpande had been invited to address the students. The host claims that in one of the videos posted online by the students, Deshpande can be seen glorifying “terrorist Zakaria Zubeidi who is one of the top leaders of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades in the West Bank.” She further said that Deshpande called the terror attack by Hamas to be a freedom struggle that happened after 45 years of dispossession of Palestinians. The host deems the alleged statements made by Deshpande to be “whitewashing the beheading of babies, kidnapping of women and mindless bloodshed as a freedom struggle.”

A video of Deshpande is played after this. In the video, Deshpande can be heard recounting his meeting with Zakaria in the year 2015 and talking about the freedom struggle of Palestine. The filmmaker states that no struggle of freedom can be entirely non-violent, as was the case of the Indian freedom struggle. The second clip then shows Deshpande praising the vision of Zakaria. Notably, the clips were short clips and the context of the statements by Deshpande was neither shown nor explained by the host.

The host then gets another reporter from the field involved in the show. Before moving to the reporter, the host deems the statement made by the filmmaker to be “quite shocking”. Referring to Zakaria as a Hamas leader and a Hamas terrorist, the host compares the current address to be similar to the virtual address given by a former Hamas leader at a protest at Kerala. She asks the field report to give details as to why “there is so much anger mounting at the current address and what do the IIT-ians have to say about it?”

The field reporter begins by calling the incident “deeply shocking” and informs that certain IIT-ians have filed a complaint with the Powai Police station in Mumbai. The reporter then speaks to a group of people who claimed to have been a part of the impugned class. The reporter asks the responding student to give details on “how the lecture was pro-Hamas and how two militants belonging to Hamas were glorified”.

The responding student states that while giving the introduction to the documentary being screened, Deshpande, to his shock, agreed to having met Zakaria and also called him a legend. According to him, this was a “deliberate attempt to influence the students of IIT-B”. The students go on to state that there should be checks and balances in premier institutes such as IIT-B. The responding student also accuses the dean, director, deputy director and other authorities of the institution of ignoring the emails sent by him regarding the aforementioned matter. The student further states that the incident took place when the Vice President of India was present on the campus and it was unfair for the students “to be helpless and held hostage” and made to watch this film. Furthermore, he termed the lecture to be “political indoctrination through Mr. Deshpande who not only justified acts of violence and militant acts of Zakaria.”

The reporter then speaks to another student from the group of students standing there. The second student elaborates that he was not a part of the impugned lecture but was attending the lecture by the Vice President wherein he had said that there should be zero tolerance for anti-national acts. The said student states that he was “sad after hearing that such lectures were being given in the campus at the same time as the Vice President was speaking.”

The field reporter of Times Now, based on the statements of the two students, then deduces that the “students of the IIT-B are very much appalled by what happened in their campus and they were not expecting. It was supposed to be a movie screening before which, out of the blue, a lecture was given which is pro-Hamas.”

The host of the show then concludes the programme by stating that “IIT-ians continue to ask whether there should be some further checks and balances before a stage is given to those who are opining in favour of terrorists and have this kind of an opinion on what is going on in the Gaza strip”.

The show can be viewed here:

https://www.timesnownews.com/videos/times-now/india/iitians-allege-prof-saha-for-inviting-filmmaker-who-glorified-palestinian-terrorists-latest-updates-video-105072098

Statement by Sudhanva Deshpande

In his statement, Deshpande provided that he had been asked by Prof. Saha to introduce the 2004 documentary film, ‘Arna’s Children’, in which Zakaria Zubeidi is a character. Deshpande provided that his talk was a scheduled part of the class. As per his statement, Zakaria had given up arms and was advocating cultural resistance when the two had met in the year 2015. Referring to the accusation of calling Zakaria a visionary, Deshpande provided that “I had referred to Zubeidi as a ‘visionary’, because in his conversation with me, he envisaged a future where the entire territory of historic Palestine would be a single nation, in which ALL its citizens — Arabs, Jews, Christians, and others — would have equal rights.”

The filmmaker has accused the programme being run by Times Now of spreading malicious disinformation against him. He has clarified that he neither mentioned nor glorified Hamas in his talks. He further pointed out that Zakaria was never a member of Hamas, as was being claimed by Times Now. In his statement, he also stated that “I am not a ‘Hamas apologist’. Times Now is whitewashing genocide and ethnic cleansing.”

The complete statement is provided below:

Times Now has run a malicious disinformation campaign against me and Prof. Sharmistha Saha of IIT-Bombay on its channel on November 8.

I had been asked by Prof. Saha to introduce a 2004 documentary film, ‘Arna’s Children’, made by Juliano Mer Khamis, an Israeli Jewish filmmaker, actor and theatre director. One of the characters in the film is Zakaria Zubeidi. My talk was part of a scheduled class on November 6.

Zakaria Zubeidi is a former military commander of the armed wing of Fatah, the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades. Fatah is the political party founded by Yasser Arafat. When I met Zubeidi in Palestine in 2015, he had given up arms and was advocating cultural resistance. He had highlighted the value of culture in the Palestinian freedom struggle. He co-founded The Freedom Theatre in the West Bank to fulfil his vision. I had referred to Zubeidi as a ‘visionary’, because in his conversation with me, he envisaged a future where the entire territory of historic Palestine would be a single nation, in which ALL its citizens — Arabs, Jews, Christians, and others — would have equal rights.

In a series of bulletins titled ‘Row Over IIT Bombay Event’, the TV channel referred to Zubeidi as a Hamas terrorist and called me a ‘Hamas apologist’. The channel claimed that my online talk to the IIT-B students on November 6 ‘whitewashes’ the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, and that I had ‘glorified a Hamas terrorist’.

The bulletins run by Times Now were based on a video recorded by a student of IIT-B, who was present for my talk.

To set the record straight:

I said nothing that glorified Hamas. In fact, I did not even mention Hamas in my talk.

Zakaria Zubeidi was NEVER a member of Hamas, as claimed on air by Times Now.

By flashing lies on its screen – ‘Hamas Apologists Get Stage’ and ‘Blind to Hamas Terror’ – Times Now has defamed me and Prof. Sharmistha Saha on the channel on November 8.

The film ‘Arna’s Children’ shows the work of a theatre for children established by Arna Mer, Juliano’s mother, and an Israeli Jewish person herself. Juliano Mer Khamis was assassinated outside The Freedom Theatre in 2011. Juliano had previously served in the Israeli army.

Fatah is currently led by Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority. Arafat’s leadership and the Palestinian freedom struggle have historically been recognised by India. In 1974, India became the first Non-Arab State to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) led by Arafat as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

The Government of India clarified its position as recently as October 12, 2023, affirming, ‘Our policy has been longstanding and consistent. India has always advocated the resumption of direct negotiations towards establishing a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine.’

Despite these facts, Times Now has been playing up my statement, ‘The Palestinian struggle is a freedom struggle…’ to fuel its heavily slanted reportage in favour of Israel and the genocide and ethnic cleansing being perpetrated on Palestinians — over 10,000 people killed since October 7, including over 4,000 children, and two-thirds of Gaza’s 2.2 million inhabitants displaced. The Israeli military campaign has targeted hospitals and ambulances, killed journalists, shut down water, electricity and the Internet, and severely curtailed humanitarian aid.

Times Now has also twisted my observations that ‘there has been no freedom struggle in the history of the world, in the history of colonialism, that has been entirely 100 per cent non-violent’. Ignoring this historical fact, Times Now effectively denies revolutionaries such as Bhagat Singh their glorious role in India’s freedom struggle.

I am not a ‘Hamas apologist’. Times Now is whitewashing genocide and ethnic cleansing.

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