BHU students resume dharna over Muslim teacher issue

‘Not satisfied with administration’s explanation on his appointment’

Students protesting at the BHU against appointment of a Muslim teacher of Sanskrit.

Unsatisfied with the written explanation given by the administration, students of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) protesting the appointment of a Muslim as assistant professor in the Sanskrit Vidya Dharm Vijnan faculty resumed their dharna.

The students had on November 22 called off the dharna 15 days after it began. The students, who had been on a sit-in since November 7, have been demanding that the central varsity cancel the appointment of assistant professor Feroze Khan in the Sahitya (Literature) Department of the SVDV and transfer him to another faculty.

Written assurances

The students had ended their dharna on November 22 after written assurances by top officials that the administration would reply within 10 days to a list of queries submitted by them.

The memorandum submitted by the students primarily sought clarification on and details of the selection and shortlisting process for Mr. Khan’s appointment and if the screening was done impartially and as per the BHU Act 1915 and values of varsity founder Madan Mohan Malviya.

In its reply, a copy of which was shared by one of the protesting students on his social media profile, the administration clarified the shortlisting and appointment in the university were completed as per the “present BHU Act” and the UGC Regulations, 2018.

Shubham Tiwary, a Ph.D scholar leading the protests, said they were not satisfied with the reply.

“We asked why wasn’t the BHU Act considered in the appointment. They responded by saying the UGC guidelines were followed. They just wrote down what they have been saying all along. In a way, they tried to make fools out of us,” Mr. Tiwary told The Hindu .

If their demands are not met, the students said they would boycott the upcoming examinations, scheduled for December 10.

Unconnected answers

Chakrapani Ojha, a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the RSS, said the university responded to the queries with unconnected answers. He asked the varsity to explain which Act supercedes the BHU Act.