BHU prof resigns, joins another dept

A GROUP OF STUDENTS CALLED OFF ITS STIR FOLLOWING FIROZ KHAN’S RESIGNATION FROM THE SAHITYA DEPT OF SVDV FACULTY

VARANASI: Firoz Khan, the assistant professor whose appointment in Banaras Hindu University’s Sanskrit Vidya Dharma Vijnan (SVDV) faculty led to over a month-long protest by students, has resigned from the faculty and will teach Sanskrit in a different department of the varsity.

Khan, who submitted his resignation on Monday, joined the department of Sanskrit in the faculty of arts at BHU, confirmed an official.

A group of SVDV students, who had been protesting since November 7 against Khan’s appointment in the faculty’s department of Sahitya, claiming that a non-hindu could not teach the subject closely connected with the religion, have called off their stir.

“Dr Firoz joined the faculty of Arts as an assistant professor on December 9. As soon as semester examination concludes, he will start taking classes for BA. He will teach Abhigyan Sankuntalam, Meghdoot and many other topics of the subject,” said a senior professor at the department of Sanskrit.

“We are happy that Dr Firoz has joined our department. He is a renowned scholar of Sanskrit. Our students will benefit from his knowledge,” another professor said.

Khan’s resignation f rom SVDV and the circumstances surrounding it has come in for criticism from few of the university’s own teachers, with professor MP Ahirwar of department of ancient Indian history and archaeology calling it unfortunate. “This is a very unfortunate incident that Dr Firoz Khan, who