LU teachers’ association throws its weight behind professor
LUTA describes university’s action to seek explanation from prof for his comments as “unilateral” and “unfair”
LUCKNOW : The Lucknow University Teachers’ Association (LUTA) has unanimously passed a resolution in support of its dalit professor Ravi Kant Chandan who is in the eye of the storm over his remarks during an online debate on the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi complex issue.
The association, at its executive committee meeting on Saturday, described the university’s action to seek an explanation from their colleague for his comments made in the debate as “unilateral” and “unfair”.
Some people had objected to a quote by Ravi Kant Chandan, an associate professor of Hindi at LU, during the debate.
“This unilateral action of the university administration to seek explanation from a teacher is unfair. On May 10, a group of students stormed inside Lucknow University, gheraoed Ravi Kant and raised objectionable slogans in a language that was indecent and furious in nature,” LUTA said in its resolution.
“An unpleasant incident could have happened to Ravi Kant,” the association said. It demanded strict action by the university administration against all those involved in that incident.
The LUTA executive expressed regret over the police administration not taking action on Ravi Kant’s letter and held that ex-parte action was not justified, said Vineet Kumar Verma and Rajendra Kumar Verma, LUTA president and general secretary, respectively.
The LUTA stance comes days after hundreds of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists on Tuesday (May 10) staged a protest on Lucknow University (LU) campus, demanding an apology from Ravi Kant Chandan for his alleged derogatory remarks made during a television debate on Kashi Vishwanath temple in the backdrop of the recent developments over a survey of Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal in the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi.
FIR AGAINST PROF
Aman Dubey, a Lucknow University (LU) student and an inmate of LBS hostel, lodged an FIR against prof Ravi Kant Chandan, on Tuesday accusing him of disturbing social fabric of the LU by his alleged derogatory and objectionable remarks about Kashi Vishwanath temple. Hasanganj police registered a case against Kant for “promoting enmity, hurting religious sentiments and misusing IT platform to spread hatred”. The student alleged that the professor’s comment had brought disrepute to the institution.
For his part, Ravi Kant Chandan lodged a complaint with the police alleging that ABVP activists and other “chaotic elements” tried to kill him on the campus on Tuesday for his comments.
The comments came during an online debate hosted by Satya Hindi, a Hindi news platform. The professor quoted a story from the book ‘Feathers and Stones’ by freedom fighter Pattabhi Sitaramayya, which describes the alleged circumstances under which a temple at the disputed spot was destroyed and a mosque erected in its place. “They used abusive words against me and tried to kill me on the university campus. The accused also raised slogans like “Desh ke traitors ko goli maaro” (kill the traitors of the country) and made casteist comments against me as I come from the Dalit community,” said Chandan in his complaint.