Eminent historians, including Romila Thapar and K.M. Shrimali, on Friday came out in support of Syed Nadeem Rezavi, the associate professor of history at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), who has been suspended for his comments on Facebook against university Vice-Chancellor Zameeruddin Shah.
Their statement calling for the reinstatement of Dr. Rezavi came even as his suspension kicked up a row on the campus with the Central Universities Research Scholars Association demanding stern action against the associate professor. The association said there were limits to criticism, referring to the language used by Dr. Rezavi while commenting about Mr. Shah.
According to some historians who spoke up for Dr. Rezavi, he was being victimised as his order of appointment as professor had been withheld for the last two years.
In their statement, the historians said: “His suspension avowedly on the grounds of some criticism he levelled against the vice-chancellor on the Internet betokens an extreme intolerance of dissent.”
They also flagged the fact that both the vice-chancellor and the pro vice-chancellor of AMU were retired military officers which, according to them, was in violation of the University Grants Commission’s stipulation that persons occupying these offices should come from an academic background.
The Delhi University Teachers Association and the All-India Forum for the Right to Education have also come out in support of Dr. Rezavi. “His suspension for criticising what he thought was illegal or motivated action by the vice-chancellor constitutes a gross assault on the freedom of speech and expression,” the DUTA said while the forum expressed full solidarity with the AMU faculty in their struggle to defend the cause of academic freedom and teachers’ self-respect.
