Assistant professor at Sree Kerala Varma College Deepa Nishant, who is in the eye of the storm over her Facebook post on a beef festival held at the college, has said that people with vested interests are misinterpreting her remarks.
“My Facebook post is not a reaction to the incident at the college, in particular. It is a reaction to the on-going issue of beef ban and related controversies in the country, in general. As a citizen, I have the right to express my opinion on Facebook. My comment is not against the college rules,” she told The Hindu on Wednesday. However, she said she was not against the symbolic beef protest. I had not written anything against any political party, she said. In my explanation to the Cochin Devaswom Board, I had explained my stand, she said.
The SFI activists in the college conducted a beef festival on October 1 in protest against the murder of a man in Uttar Pradesh, allegedly for eating beef. In her Facebook post, Ms. Nishant has written that educational institutions are not temples and temple rituals cannot be followed on college campuses.
Opposing the argument that political freedom on the Kerala Varma College campus was a hindrance to academic performances, Ms. Nishant said the college was one of the most culturally vibrant campuses in the State.
“After seven years in the college, I had passed out with a first rank. The college campus was more politically active at that time. What students should follow on the campus is their choice,” she said.
When her Facebook post became viral, Sangh Parivar organisations sought her expulsion from the college. The president of the Cochin Devaswom Board, which runs the college, had sought an explanation from Ms. Nishant. Six SFI students were suspended from the college for allegedly violating college rules.
