A senior Dalit professor, Shanti Lal Salvi, at the Benaras Hindu University (BHU) has allegedly been attacked by students at the University for supporting his Muslim colleague, Feroz Khan’s appointment as the assistant professor in the Sanskrit department.

Speaking to reporters in Varanasi Professor Salvi said, “I was sitting in a classroom when some students barged in and started abusing me in foul language.”

“They asked me to stop supporting a Muslim’s appointment to the faculty. I felt unsafe and came out. Some of the students then hurled stones at me and later caught up with me and shoved and pushed me. I could escape because a stranger gave me a lift on his scooter,” he added.

He said that a colleague had instigated the students, but did not name him in front of the media. He affirmed, “I have complained to vice-chancellor Rakesh Bhatnagar against a professor of the department and some students.”

He has also written to the Chief Proctor O.P. Rai, accusing the senior faculty member who incited the students.

His letter, accessed by the Indian Express read, “At 12.05 pm, I was sitting in my office at the SVDV faculty when some students came to me and asked me to leave as they were closing the faculty. Soon I came out with a colleague when an outsider, Munish Mishra, along with a student, Shubham Tiwari, and others started raising slogans against me. They called me and the department HoD a thief. Soon, more students joined and started making casteist remarks. They all chased me to beat me up. Sensing that my life is in threat, I started running and after around half a kilometre, I took a lift from a bike rider to reach the central office. One of the students threw a brick at me, but he missed.”

He also told the paper that the senior professor he had accused, had harassed him in the past too and spread a rumour that his wife, who is a Ph.D. from BHU was a Muslim and Feroz Khan’s sister. He added that the reason the students attacked him was because the professor had told them that it was Salvi who had got Feroz to the University. Professor Salvi also has plans to file an FIR against the said senior faculty member.

A student who was part of the group that confronted professor Salvi, said that they had only asked the professor to stop supporting Khan and had never attacked him.

A group of professors also met the proctor to discuss the incident and he has assured that a committee will be set up to investigate the matter.

A university official told the paper, “Based on findings of the committee, action will be taken against those responsible, as per the university rules. An FIR in the case is being registered at Lanka police station in Varanasi.”

Feroz Khan’s appointment as the assistant professor at the Sanskrit department had created a row. The students, who are protesting since November 8, a day after his appointment have said that his appointment is unacceptable on the grounds that a Muslim cannot teach Hindu religious texts which are included in the syllabus. No classes have been conducted at the Sanskrit Vidya Dharam Sankay department since then and the semester exams that were to held starting December 5, have been postponed Chief Proctor O.P.Rai told reporters.

Khan who has a Ph.D. in Sanksrit Literature from the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan in Jaipur is a regular on the Varta Vali programme that is telecast on Doordarshan every Saturday. He has been felicitated with the Sanskrit Yuva Pratibha Puraskar award by the Rajasthan government, but fascist Hindu outfits like the RSS and ABVP who have been backing the students in their protest against him, have left a more than well-deserving candidate bereft of an opportunity. This is just one of their many attempts to stoke communal hate and poison the secular education system with their Hindutva ideology.

Even though Khan has been backed by the University administration, he has been forced into quitting the SVDV department owing to the student agitation. He has now applied to Sanskrit Department of the University’s Faculty of Arts and also for the Assistant Professor’s post at the Faculty of Ayurveda.

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No radicalism: BHU VC backs Feroz Khan’s appointment as Sanskrit professor      

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Kolkata: At a time when faculty members both present and past have even written to the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, requesting him to intervene and stall the appointment of Dr Feroze Khan in Banaras Hindu University (BHU)’s Sanskrit Dharam Vidya Vigyaan department, West Bengal seems to embracing its Sanskrit professors hailing from the ‘other’ community, comfortably.

Going by a loose headcount there are at least 30 Muslim professors in West Bengal, teaching Sanskrit. Around 14 were recruited last year through College Service Commission and 12 this year. The most recent recruitment being of Ramzal Ali at the Sanskrit department of Ramkrishna Mission Vidyamandir, Belur. Speaking to eNewsroom, regarding his recruitment, he said, “I am in a state of shock with so many calls being made to me, seeking my comment. A Muslim learning Sanskrit is nothing new. There is a history to it. In every Sanskrit department across the state, you will find at least one Muslim student. Muslim Sanskrit teachers in Bengal, is also not rare.”

Perhaps Ali has a point. For, Dr Shaikh Sabir Ali, a gold medalist in Sanskrit from the University of Calcutta has been teaching the language for almost a decade now. Dr Ali, at present, teaches Sanskrit at the West Bengal State University, Barasat. According to him, Sanskrit, as a language is beyond Vedas and Upanishads.

Speaking from experience Ali said, “Every batch has at least one Muslim student in the Department of Sanskrit. In Kolkata, I presume, Rabindra Bharati University has a huge number of Sanskrit students.”  Dr Ali is also a topper from Ramkrisha Mission Vidyamandir.

He said, “There is more to this language, apart from the Vedas, Purans and Upanishads. This language has a rich literature and grammar too. It was these two that attracted me as a child. Luckily, my teachers encouraged me to take up this language for my higher studies. You, see one can’t make people take up a language simply based on one’s religion. History is a witness to many Muslims mastering this language.”

Speaking from experience Ali said, “Every batch has at least one Muslim student in the Department of Sanskrit. In Kolkata, I presume, Rabindra Bharati University has a huge number of Sanskrit students.”  Dr Ali is also a topper from Ramkrisha Mission Vidyamandir.

Rakibul Sk, assistant professor at SBS government college said, “I have never been discriminated on the basis of my religion, neither while I was mastering Sanskrit, nor while teaching it. I would like to add that while I hail from a small place like Jangipur, my place of birth has taught me that there is no religious attachment to any language. Hence, when I took up Sanskrit for my higher education, the Hindu neighbours of mine never raised an eyebrow. On the contrary, they were quite happy. The teachers who guided me to reach this position are all Hindus. It’s sad that today, we are discussing all this from a religious perspective.”

Adding to the experiences of Muslim Sanskrit teachers in Bengal, Rakibul Sk, assistant professor at SBS government college said, “I have never been discriminated on the basis of my religion, neither while I was mastering Sanskrit, nor while teaching it. I would like to add that while I hail from a small place like Jangipur, my place of birth has taught me that there is no religious attachment to any language. Hence, when I took up Sanskrit for my higher education, the Hindu neighbours of mine never raised an eyebrow. On the contrary, they were quite happy. The teachers who guided me to reach this position are all Hindus. It’s sad that today, we are discussing all this from a religious perspective.”

However, on being asked about the faculty members writing to the President of India, Ali, said, “I don’t want to open up a new controversy. But let me be very clear, there is a particular department of Sanskrit, which is accessible only to the Brahmin. Even Hindus from other sect are not allowed to enter that domain, so the question of a Muslim being appointed in that domain can be quite challenging. As per my knowledge, Dr Feroze Khan has been appointed in the Sanskrit Dharam Vidya Vigyaan department, which is the domain that I just talked about. I don’t want to get into a further debate, but I guess, his recruitment in the literature department wouldn’t have caused this huge controversy.”

Given the new twist in the story, it would be interesting to see President Kovind’s call on the letter written by the faculty members of BHU, seeking his intervention to stall Khan‘s recruitment, especially when earlier this year, he had awarded Padma Sri for Literature and Education to Sanskrit Scholar Mohammad Hanif Khan Shastri.

Courtesy: https://enewsroom.in/

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In the hope of ending the ongoing impasse, Dr. Firoz Khan, whose appointments as assistant professor in the Sanskrit Vidya Dharam Vigyan (SVDV) faculty of Benaras Hindu University (BHU) triggered protests, has now applied for teaching posts in the Sanskrit Department of the varsity’s Faculty of Arts, The Indian Express reported.

Khan, who is keen to teach at the Faculty of Arts, has also applied for the post of Assistant Professor at the university’s faculty of Ayurveda after the students of SVDV had staged a dharna regarding his appointment of an Assistant Professor in their faculty, stating that they wouldn’t tolerate a Muslim, who is not connected with their culture, teaching them about the Sanatan Dharma and Karmkaand.

Firoz Khan, a PhD in Sanskrit, was inducted into the SVDV faculty on November 7, but was unable to conduct even a single class there owing to the protests. The protesting students called off their sit-in protest on Friday following a written assurance from the university administration that it would answer their questions. The students, however, said that they would continue to boycott classes and may even resume their agitation if the BHU administration fails to answer their questions in 10 days.

Khan, who felt ‘insulted’ for the response his appointment received says he will quit the SVDV department if he is selected in either, or both of the departments he has applied to. However, he is said to be keen on joining the Arts Faculty as the students there have no problem with a Muslim teaching them Sanskrit. Additionally, it is also said that joining the Ayurveda department would mean deviating from his field of interest as well as area of expertise.

Through all of his ordeal, the BHU administration has backed his appointment stating that it is in accordance with the norms prescribed and there is no question of his removal stating that his appointment was a unanimous decision made by a selection committee under a transparent process.

However, dragging Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya’s name into their protest, the students said Khan’s appointment hurt their sentiments and was made as part of a conspiracy stating that there was a stone inscription installed in BHU clearly states that no non-Hindu can either study or teach in our department. However, the university has rubbished their claims.

While Firoz Khan’s future at the BHU remains to be seen after the show of extreme radicalism, there comes some good news. The Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandir in West Bengal recruited Ramzan Khan and Ganesh Tudu, a Muslim and a tribal, as assistant professors of Sanskrit.

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On November 22, 2019, the BHU students who had been protesting for 2 weeks against the appointment of Muslim teacher Firoz Khan in the Sanskrit Department of the University, have decided to end the protest after assurances from the Vice Chancellor that “corrective” measures will be taken within 10 days. It is not the first time we have seen religion and caste-based ‘protests’ by Savarna Hindus hold administrations and governments ransom. Yet, a lot of aspects of this latest controversy are surprising. For example, Muslims teaching or excelling in Sanskrit is not something that is happening for the first time.

Ashab Ali, who retired in 2010 from the post of Head of the Department- Sanskrit at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya University, Gorakhpur, had a 33 years long career as a much-loved teacher despite the Department being dominated by Brahmins and Thakurs. Ashab Ali had topped both his BA and MA exams in Sanskrit in 1969 and 1971 . He then completed a PhD on a comparative study of Vedic and Islamic myths under the then head of department, Atul Chandra Banerjee, who also played a key role in his appointment which led him to hold the highest position of HOD eventually.

The story of another Sanskrit scholar- 85 year old Pandit Ghulam Dastagir Birajdar– is endearing. As former General Secretary of Vishwa Sanskrit Pratishthan in Varanasi, and presently Chairman of the committee to prepare school textbooks for Sanskrit in Maharashtra, he has such mastery over the language that he is often asked by local Hindus to solemnise marriages, preside over pujas or perform last rites. Even though he declines such requests, he has taught many Hindus how to recite and perform Hindu rituals.

Dr. Meraj Ahmed Khan, who is an Associate Professor of Sanskrit at Kashmir University says, “What we teach in universities is modern Sanskrit which has nothing to do with religion”.Adding that he was never discriminated against for being a Muslim scholar of Sanskrit, he said, “If they did, they wouldn’t award me a gold medal in MA”.

Dr. Salma Mahfooz, renowned Sanskrit scholar from the Aligarh Muslim University was the first Muslim woman in the world to be awarded a PhD in Sanskrit. She has taught Geeta, Vedas, Upanishads and guided more than 15 PhD scholars during her career. Commenting on the BHU row she quipped, “Mazhab apni jagah hai, taleem apni jagah” (Religion has its own place, and education and upbringing has its own place).

The examples are endless. The Sanskrit Department’s Chairman at Aligarh Muslim University is Prof Mohammed Shareef; retired associate Professor (Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan Delhi) Dr. Mohammad Haneef Khan Shastri was conferred the title of “Shastri” by former President of India Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma; even the person at the centre of the present controversy, Firoz Khan, is not the first in his family to study Sanskrit. His grandfather Gafur Khan would sing bhajans for Hindu audiences in Rajasthan and his father Ramjan Khan studied Sanskrit would often preach on the need to look after cows in Jaipur’s Bagru village.

While it remains to be seen if BHU administration upholds Firoz Khan’s appointment, on the other end of the spectrum, Ramzan Khan and Ganesh Tudu have been appointed as assistant professors of Sanskrit at the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira in west Bengal. This is for the first time in Bengal when a Muslim and a Tribal teacher, both of whom are non-Hindus, will be teaching in an autonomous college.

Historically, Sanskrit was studied ardently and was part of the Mughal culture. According to Audrey Truschke’s book- Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court, “Mughals sought to integrate the culture of the Sanskrit language and literature in the evolution of the Mughal state system… a worldview that envisioned the Mughal court and by extension the Mughal state as a multi-cultural and multi-lingual cosmos…”

The study of any language is a foray into its beauty and the richness of its literature. Language is not and has never been the domain of any religion. So why is it suddenly an issue now? The current political climate is enhancing a divisive movement on the basis of any differences that seem to not align with the majority- be it religion, caste, language, or even diversity in sexuality and gender identities. These create distraction tactics for the youth who face abysmal future prospects in a crumbling economy. The nation seems to be coming apart at the seams and yet the so called ‘Nationalist’ agendas are only hampering nation building. It has been said time and again that our burgeoning population can be our biggest asset to move up on the path to development. But as long as the population is divided and distracted by meaningless controversies, we conveniently play into the hands of politicians who are looking for their own short-term benefits. How is this any different from the divide and rule tactics of our colonizers?

As we look at the big picture, the logic is clear and simple, and yet logic does not work to counter the divisive sentiments like the ones at play in the BHU case. Margaret Atwood says,

“Touch comes before sight, before speech. It is the first language and the last, and it always tells the truth.”

Maybe the human touch is the only solution we have, to reach out to fellow citizens and preach a language of empathy. If we have a universal language of understanding, maybe we wouldn’t resort to the language of hate anymore.

The post The Language of Hate – BHU students protest Muslim Sanskrit teacher appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Benaras Hindu University may be the first university in India to shatter stereotypes and go against the popular Hindutva narrative. The Uttar Pradesh University has backed its decision of appointing a Muslim professor to its Sanskrit faculty after some students protested against the decision, Scroll.in reported. The administration of the college said that the university is committed to providing equal opportunities to everyone, irrespective of their religion, caste, community or gender.

Students of the BHU have been staging sit-in demonstrations over the last week against the appointment of a 29-year-old Muslim professor Feroz Khan as an assistant professor in the literature department of the faculty of Sanskrit Vidya Dharm Vigyan.

Students from the university had said that the appointment of Khan was a conspiracy and it would hurt the sentiments of Madan Mohan Malviya, who had helped establish the university. They also said that a stone inscription installed in BHU clearly stated that no non-Hindu could either study or teach in the Sanksrit department.

PhD student Shubham Tiwari, who is also taking part in the protests, told The Print: “In this department, there are no teachers, all are our gurus. Everyone keeps a choti (tuft of hair on the head), we touch their feet and participate in havan (a ritual). If a Muslim professor is accorded a place in the department, then it will be open discrimination against the students. A Muslim can’t teach us our dharma.”

Not just the students, even the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the students’ wing of the Rashtriya Swayam sevak Sangh (RSS), has also opposed the appointment.

However, quashing all claims of the mentioned stone inscription, the BHU administration released a statement saying that the goal of the university was to contribute to nation-building by providing equal opportunities toward studying and teaching for all, without any discrimination.

Head of Department Umakant Chaturvedi and VC Rakesh Bhatnagar have informed the students that Khan’s appointment will not be rescinded as it has been made as per the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines. They have said that they would however seek legal or constitutional opinion to clear any doubts with respect to the BHU Act.

Those taking an extremist approach regarding Khan’s appointment, must first see this message by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya on the website of BHU.

Feroz Khan who is being outright targeted for his religion from fascist Hindutva followers, has been studying Sanskrit since Class 2 and has completed all of his education – BA, B.Ed, MA and PhD from Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan in Jaipur. He has done his PhD in Sanskrit literature and has been awarded the Sanskrit Yuva Pratibha Puraskar by the Rajasthan government.

As a child, Feroz remembers that his father Ramjan Khan would sing bhajans in Sanskrit just grandfather Gafur Khan would, to swaying Hindu crowds in Jaipur’s Bagru village. “We had no problems then”, said Khan.

Feroz is also a regular in the Varta vali programme telecast on Doordarshan every Saturday evening, where he sings Hindi film songs translated into Sanskrit.

The protest from the ABVP and other students is a shame and just portrays the anti-minority mindset of the Hindu radicalists and is a clear violation of the Constitution of India.

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