Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Thursday came out in support of Muslim assistant professor in the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Feroze Khan, who has been unable to discharge his duties due to protests by some students against his appointment.
She said the wavering stance of the government and the varsity administration was “unnecessarily fuelling” the issue.
The controversy, which came about after some people linked education to the hyper-politics of religion and caste, could not be justified in any manner, Ms. Mayawati said in a series of tweets in Hindi.
The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said the appointment of Mr. Khan, “a suitable and learned Muslim Sanskrit scholar,” as a teacher in the BHU would be considered as giving the proper patronage to talent.
“In this regard, nobody should be allowed do anything which is demoralising [for Mr. Khan]. It will be better if the government pays immediate and proper attention to it,” she said.
A group of students on Wednesday evening led a solidarity march in the BHU in support of Mr. Khan.
Under the banner of the Joint Action Commitee, BHU, a common platform for non-ABVP student groups, the students held up banners and placards declaring their support for Mr. Khan, who has left for his native place in Rajasthan due to personal reasons amid speculation that he was not on the campus due to security concerns.
BHU appeals again to students
The BHU administration once again appealed to the protesting students to call off their dharna. It held several rounds of talks with them on Wednesday evening. Vice-Chancellor (VC) Rakesh Bhatnagar, faculty deans, heads of departments, senior officials and teachers were present in the meetings.
The VC told the protesting students that “the prolonged dharna and the closure of the faculty for so many days have made students suffer a lot," a university spokesperson said.
Semester exams were about to begin and students should cooperate in ensuring the smooth conduct of classes in the faculty, the VC told the students who have been on a dharna since November 7 opposing the appointment of Mr. Khan in the Sahitya department of the Sanskrit Vidya Dharma Vijnan Faculty of the Central varsity.
