A court in Aligarh has accepted a complaint against historian Irfan Habib for his remark about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s role in freedom struggle.
Hearing a petition by RSS activist Gopal Baghel, the court, however, refused to order an FIR under Section 156/3 of the Cr. PC against Prof. Habib saying there was no basis to do so. The court fixed January 23 as the next date of hearing and asked the complainant to submit evidence in support of his allegation. Mr. Baghel said he was a member of the RSS and was “hurt” by the statement of Prof. Habib that the RSS had no role in the Indian freedom struggle.
Role in freedom struggle
Prof. Habib had in March said at a function that the RSS should tell people what was its role in the Indian freedom struggle against the British Raj.
Asked to comment about the petition, Prof. Habib told The Hindu that he stood by his statement that there was no historical evidence to prove that the RSS participated in the freedom struggle.
