Hounded out, Sanskrit professor changes BHU post, students celebrate
NB: Glimpse of Hindu Rashtra: 'Sangh parivar' students are free to reject academic appointments on ground of the religion of the professor. A Muslim may not teach Sanskrit. Some years ago the University of Delhi removed A K Ramanujam's Three Hundred Ramayanas from the reading list. Three cheers for "civilisational renewal" - DS
Over a month
after protests
broke out in Banaras Hindu University (BHU) over his
appointment, Firoze Khan on Monday resigned from the Faculty of Sanskrit
following his appointment to the university’s Arts Faculty. The students, who
had been agitating against the appointment of a Muslim to BHU’s Faculty of
Sanskrit Vidya Dharma Vigyan (SVDV), celebrated the resignation by distributing
sweets among the students and the staff.
In a letter dated
December 10, Professor Kaushalendra Pandey, Acting Dean of the SVDV Faculty,
wrote, “This is to inform you that Firoze Khan, who was appointed as Assistant
Professor in the Literature Department of SVDV, has resigned on December 9,
2019. Students are requested to get back to their studies and examinations.” BHU Public Relations
Officer Rajesh Singh said Khan has joined the Sanskrit department in the
Faculty of Arts. “He was offered positions in both the Ayurveda faculty and the
Faculty of Arts. He has chosen
to join the Faculty of Arts. He will soon start teaching
there,” Singh said
Shashikant Mishra, one
of the students who had been leading the protests and the boycott of classes
over Khan’s appointment, said, “We have been informed that Dr Khan has
resigned. We have called off our protest,” said Mishra, 26, a PhD scholar at
SVDV.
Another protesting
student, Chakrapani Ojha, said, “I would like to thank Dr Khan for resigning
from SVDV. We would like to congratulate him and hope that he succeeds in life.
This was not a personal fight,” said Ojha, 28, also a PhD scholar at SVDV. On Monday, the
agitating students had threatened to boycott the semester exams that were
scheduled to begin Tuesday. The examinations have been postponed to December
14, students said. Firoze Khan, who is currently on leave, could not be reached
for comment.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/hounded-out-sanskrit-professor-changes-bhu-post-students-celebrate-6160689/