After ABVP calls him anti-national and wants him out, historian Ramachandra Guha won’t teach in Gujarat
NB: For all the sweet talk about tolerance by Mohan Bhagwat, here is the RSS in action. They get to certify who is 'national' and who is 'anti-national'; who can teach where, and what they may teach. This is a relentless effort to create an ideological tyranny; buttressed by violence and intimidation. DS
Historian, biographer and author Ramachandra Guha is not joining Ahmedabad University (AU) in Gujarat due to circumstances beyond his control, he tweeted Thursday, two weeks after the RSS student wing opposed his appointment and demanded the university rescind its offer. On October 16, AU announced Guha’s appointment as the Shrenik Lalbhai Chair Professor of Humanities and director of the Gandhi Winter School at the university’s School of Arts and Sciences. On October 19, members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) registered their protest against the decision.
State protected hooliganism in Ramjas College
Confirming this, Pravin Desai, ABVP’s secretary for Ahmedabad city, told The Indian Express: “We made a representation before AU Registrar B M Shah. We said that we want intellectuals in our educational institutes and not anti-nationals, who can also be termed as ‘urban Naxals’. We had quoted anti-national content from his (Guha’s) books to the Registrar. We told him, the person you are calling is a ‘Communist’. If he is invited to Gujarat, there would be a JNU-kind anti-national sentiment.” The memorandum is addressed to the Vice-Chancellor and demands cancellation of Guha’s appointment. It describes his work as “critical of India’s Hindu culture”. “His such writings have encouraged divisive tendencies, alienation in the name of independence of the individual, freeing terrorists in the name of independence of the individual, and separating Jammu and Kashmir from the Indian union, in well known universities like Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Central University, Hyderabad,” the memorandum states.
Chandra, former director of IIM, Bangalore. was unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts.
“The element of a mobilized ABVP posed a particular kind of risk. There was a real concern that he (Guha) could be harmed (on campus),” said a source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Sources said the AU administration reached out to Guha on Monday to discuss the possibility of deferring the date of his joining. He was supposed to join AU on February 1, 2019. “It was clear that the (university) administration was under immense (political) pressure. What was not clear was if that pressure would ease up even after the (Lok Sabha) elections,” said a source close to the historian. Two days after AU reached out to him, Guha tweeted his decision to not join the university. “Due to circumstances beyond my control, I shall not be joining Ahmedabad University. I wish AU well; it has fine faculty and an outstanding Vice-Chancellor. And may the spirit of Gandhi one day come alive once more in his native Gujarat,” he said on Thursday. When contacted, Guha declined to elaborate.... read more:
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/after-abvp-calls-him-anti-national-and-wants-him-out-historian-ramachandra-guha-wont-teach-in-gujarat-5430266/
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Historian, biographer and author Ramachandra Guha is not joining Ahmedabad University (AU) in Gujarat due to circumstances beyond his control, he tweeted Thursday, two weeks after the RSS student wing opposed his appointment and demanded the university rescind its offer. On October 16, AU announced Guha’s appointment as the Shrenik Lalbhai Chair Professor of Humanities and director of the Gandhi Winter School at the university’s School of Arts and Sciences. On October 19, members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) registered their protest against the decision.
State protected hooliganism in Ramjas College
Chandra, former director of IIM, Bangalore. was unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts.
“The element of a mobilized ABVP posed a particular kind of risk. There was a real concern that he (Guha) could be harmed (on campus),” said a source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Sources said the AU administration reached out to Guha on Monday to discuss the possibility of deferring the date of his joining. He was supposed to join AU on February 1, 2019. “It was clear that the (university) administration was under immense (political) pressure. What was not clear was if that pressure would ease up even after the (Lok Sabha) elections,” said a source close to the historian. Two days after AU reached out to him, Guha tweeted his decision to not join the university. “Due to circumstances beyond my control, I shall not be joining Ahmedabad University. I wish AU well; it has fine faculty and an outstanding Vice-Chancellor. And may the spirit of Gandhi one day come alive once more in his native Gujarat,” he said on Thursday. When contacted, Guha declined to elaborate.... read more:
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/after-abvp-calls-him-anti-national-and-wants-him-out-historian-ramachandra-guha-wont-teach-in-gujarat-5430266/
