ABVP protests prof’s remark on KV temple
LUCKNOW: Hundreds of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists on Tuesday staged a protest on the Lucknow University (LU) campus. They were demanding an apology from Hindi professor Ravi Kant Chandan, a Dalit, for his alleged derogatory remarks made during a television debate on Kashi Vishwanath (KV) temple two days ago.
ABVP activists raised slogans against Kant saying his “derogatory remarks” had badly hurt their religious sentiments.
On his part, Kant claimed that on the advice of the university’s proctorial team, he first offered a regret and later tendered an apology. He, however, alleged that ABVP was trying to suppress the voice of a Dalit.
Kant further claimed that in the debate moderated by a journalist, he simply quoted from a book ‘Feathers & Stones’ written by B Pattabhi Sitaramayya. The ABVP protesters were reacting without knowing the context, he alleged.
“After the day-long protest, the Lucknow University served a notice on prof Ravi Kant seeking his reply on his remark within three days,” said LU spokesperson Durgesh Srivastava.
A member of ABVP’s central working committee Ankit Shukla said the professor should restrain himself from quoting sources on historical issues without verifying facts. The professor himself said he was not sure about the content of the book, Shukla claimed.
Professor Kant alleged that ABVP activists had raised objectionable slogans against him. Refuting the allegation, ABVP office bearers claimed that their volunteers only demanded Kant’s arrest.
Earlier in March 2019, Ravi Kant had alleged that he had been stripped of a proposed Raman Lal Agarwal Prize award that was to be conferred on him by the Rajya Karamchari Sahitya Sansthan, UP, on March 17, 2019 on account of an “objectionable post” on social media. Kant had then criticised the BJP governments at the Centre and in UP.
Tweeting in Kant’s support, former CM Akhilesh Yadav had then said: “The BJP’s assault on dalits continues unabated. Today, prof Ravi Kant of Lucknow University was stripped of a state-sponsored award for having anti-BJP views. This is the true face of their so-called ‘nationalism’.”
Support pours in for prof
Meanwhile, a number of prominent citizens, social workers and intellectuals have come forward in support of prof Ravi Kant and condemned the protest. Prominent people including former LU vice chancellor prof Roop Rekha Verma; politician Ramesh Dixit; social worker Madhu Garg and Deepak Kabir unanimously claimed that Kant had cited Pattabhi Sitarmayya’s book during the TV debate held on Gyanvapi. There was no justification for raising slogans against him, they said.
“Any difference of opinion on the debate on the subject and its interpretations is natural and even welcome. Difference of views is an important part of any debate. Try to suppress it
and an attempt towards intolerance is unfortunate,” they added.
AISA flays ABVP
The All-India Students’ Association (AISA) in a tweet said, “The hooliganism by ABVP fanatics is increasing continuously on the university campuses. Today, ABVP goons barged inside Lucknow University campus and continuously threatened to kill a Dalit Professor Dr Ravi Kant Chandan. They raised communal and undemocratic slogan ‘Desh ke gaddaron ko goli maaro saalo ko’. And all this is happening under the supervision of the university administration.”