As was widely reported by the local media, Saloni Mishra, the Vice President of the student union of the Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU), had alleged that Pathan had threatened her with an acid attack. But Pathan says the allegations are false and are were made in the aftermath of his altercation with some Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members at the MSU on April 26.

According to Pathan, the altercation took place between Pathan’s friends and the ABVP members at 3:30 pm and the FIR was filed against him at 4:30 pm. According to the FIR that may be viewed below, Pathan and seven others are accused of offences under IPC sections 143 (Unlawful Assembly), 147 (Rioting), 149 (offence committed in prosecution of common object), 294 (KH) (Obscene acts or songs) and 506 (2) (Criminal Intimidation).

Advocate Aijaz Memon, who is representing Pathan says, “Pathan was produced before a judge on April 27, but as none of the sections attracted the requirement of custody, Pathan got bail.” But he was once again asked to present himself at the Sayagunj Police Station under section 151 (Assembly of five or more persons after being asked to disperse). Memon said, “He was told he will be produced before an Executive Magistrate but that didn’t happen. Instead two members of the Gujarat Crime Branch turned up and took Pathan away on a bike to the crime branch where they physically assaulted him, humiliated him and recorded a video where he confessed to being a goonda. He was forced to make this confession at gun-point and this video was made viral on social media.”

But when his health deteriorated severely, he was taken to the SSG Hospital and kept in the emergency ward. Speaking to media persons after being brought to the hospital on April 29, Pathan said, “It was picked up from the Sayaji Police Station by two Crime Branch men and taken into a closed room at the Crime Branch. There I was beaten and asked to produce a passport. They accused me of being a terrorist. Then they forced me at gun point to confess that I was a goonda and like harassing women.”

Now, the police have booked him afresh on charges under the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act (PASA). SG Solanki, PI Sayagunj Police Station confirmed this. “Yes, we have booked him under PASA and he has been sent to Bhuj,” said Solanki.

Memon says, “Pathan was picked up from the hospital and is now being taken to Bhuj. We will challenge the PASA charges in court because none of the sections applied against him can be considered under PASA. Also, we have asked for CCTV footage of the altercation at the MSU so that we can prove no acid attack threat was ever made. Finally, we will also apply for a lie detector test.”

The post Guj NSUI Gen Sec alleges Custodial Torture by Cops to extract False Confession appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan    Image: Indian Express

On the university’s move, he wrote: “Instead of giving prominence to these real contributions [by people like (C V) Raman, S N Bose, J C Bose and (Meghnad) Saha and the invention of  zero and the positional number system in the past], it is disappointing that the university chose to print an official diary that ascribes to figures from religious scriptures discoveries that belong to modern science, such as nuclear technology, airplanes and cosmetic surgery. The people who did this may think they are being patriotic, but in fact they are bringing disrepute to the university and to India generally. I urge the university to renounce these features in the official diary and consider reprinting the diary.”
 
The Indian Express today reported
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/msu-diary-with-sadhus-as-inventors-brings-disrepute-to-india-ex-student-nobel-laureate-venkatraman-ramakrishnan-4583018/ that a MSU diary with such content drew this criticism.
 
Ex-student, Nobel Laureate
 
According to Ramakrishnan, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009, such depictions bring “disrepute” to the university and the country.

Nobel Laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, who is an alumnus of Vadodara’s Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU), has urged its administration to consider reprinting its diary and planner, which credited sages from ancient India for their “contribution to science” — from “developing nuclear technology” to “discovering rockets and aeroplanes”. According to Ramakrishnan, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009, such depictions bring “disrepute” to the university and the country.

The Indian Express had reported on March 9 that the MSU’s annual diary and planner for this year, which was released recently, hailed nine Indian sages for work ranging from “discovering rockets and aeroplanes” to pioneering cosmetic surgery.

The paper reports that in an email sent Thursday to The Indian Express, Ramakrishnan wrote:
“India has produced many great discoveries in the past. ***The most striking example is the invention of zero and the positional number system, which transformed arithmetic and mathematics in general. There were also many great discoveries made in the 20th century by people like (C V) Raman, S N Bose, J C Bose and (Meghnad) Saha.*** [Emphasis added.] In fact, the Science Museum in London is planning a special exhibition on Indian contributions to science and mathematics in connection with the 70th anniversary of Indian independence.”

On the university’s move, he wrote: “Instead of giving prominence to these real contributions, it is disappointing that the university chose to print an official diary that ascribes to figures from religious scriptures discoveries that belong to modern science, such as nuclear technology, airplanes and cosmetic surgery. The people who did this may think they are being patriotic, but in fact they are bringing disrepute to the university and to India generally. I urge the university to renounce these features in the official diary and consider reprinting the diary.”

Ramakrishnan was responding to a request seeking comment from this newspaper. The request was sent after Professor A C Sharma, dean, Faculty of Science, MSU, told the university senate during an ongoing debate on the diary that he had received an email from Ramakrishnan on the issue.

As The Indian Express reported, the diary hails Sushrut as the “father of cosmetic surgery”; Acharya Kanad as the one who “developed nuclear technology”; Kapil Muni as the “father of cosmology”; Maharshi Bhardwaj as the one who “discovered rockets and aeroplanes”; Charak Rishi as the “father of medicine”; and, Garga Muni, as the “scientist of stars”. The sages share space with eminent scientists like J C Bose, Vikram Sarabhai and C V Raman.
 
With the issue being raised at a senate meeting Thursday — the diary was not on the agenda — Prof Sharma told the gathering: “We know that this university has great alumni and many people who are associated with us. All of them don’t agree with our activity. Nobel Laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan has made a comment in this regard.”

Sharma, quoting Ramakrishnan, said, “Though I fully agree with all those who have sentiments for our history but before making anything public, we should have concrete evidence and whatever we are writing should be scientifically proven facts.”
 
During the debate, professors of the Faculty of Science contested the claims of senate member Jigar Inamdar, who referred to the Constitution to defend the representation of sages in the diary.

Inamdar produced pages from a reproduction of the Constitution, which depicted illustrations from Ramayana and Mahabharata, asked why an issue was being made about attributing the scientific inventions to sages.

“The Congress party has been objecting to the presence of sages in our diary saying that we are insulting the sages and our Constitution. But on Page 6 of the Constitution, we have a picture depicting the Ramayana and on Page 18, a picture of Mahabharat. So what is wrong with paying a tribute to the sages through the diary?” he asked.

Inamdar holds various positions in the university, including honorary executive director of the Institute of Leadership and Governance; Gujarat government-nominated syndicate member; elected senate member from the donor’s constituency, and, regional director of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

When contacted, Inamdar told The Indian Express that he did not agree with Ramakrishnan’s suggestion. “I personally respect Venki (as Ramakrishnan is popularly known). But just because he is a Nobel Laureate, whatever he says does not become true. He has the right to object. It is my right to say that the MSU diary should have these details about the sages, and it is his right to object to it. But just because he is a Nobel Laureate, we cannot accept whatever he says as truth,” he said.

“It is India’s misfortune that the British introduced the education system in India through (Thomas Babington) Macaulay. They destroyed our existing education system and kept the Western culture in mind. They taught the wrong history to all of us for all these years. Our Hansa Mehta library (in MSU) has several books related to astronomy that prove Indian scientific research. I am proud to be a BJP member and an RSS worker as the party is working hard to bring to light the actual Indian culture. The Congress regime has only pushed forward the Western education agenda.”

According to Inamdar, the debate should only be about whether the sages had been able to prove their research or not. “Who can prove that these Indian researches were not proven in their own time. I staunchly believe that Lord Ram travelled in the Pushpak Viman. There were no Wright brothers at that time. But the Pushpak Viman existed.
 
We need to prove this now."

The post ‘Sadhus as Inventors Brings Disrepute to India : Nobel Laureate & Ex-student to MSU, Vadodara appeared first on SabrangIndia.