It is not surprising that news of the forced resignation of the principal of the New Government Law College, Indore has failed to register on the consciousness of India’s higher education community. Nor has it stirred the judicial community, which includes lawyers and judges. One is not aware if civil society in Indore, which prides itself for the city’s physical hygiene, has reacted. What we do know is that after forcing a Muslim principal out, Hindutva groups are now gunning for Farhat Khan, author of Collective Violence and Criminal Justice System – the book which is the excuse for attacking the principal, Inamur Rahman, and other Muslim teachers of the college. On Thursday afternoon, Khan was arrested by the Madhya Pradesh police.
Indore is called a ‘mini-Mumbai’, and people boast about its night life and how free it is. But it is here that the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and a fraternal organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party, created a ruckus around the presence of a book in the Law College library and demanded action against the principal and other Muslim teachers. The reason given was that the book contains criticism of the RSS, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Durga Vahini and other bodies that fall under the Hindutva umbrella. How can you have such a book in the library? They also accused the Muslim teachers of indulging in ‘love jihad’ and teaching religious fundamentalism. They were angry that the college had such a high number of Muslim teachers.
The principal, feeling humiliated by the disrespectful slogans involving his religion, resigned. He had earlier instituted an enquiry about the allegations against the book. As it turned out, the book has long been in the library. It was purchased during the tenure of his predecessor, a Hindu, and recommended by three faculty members, all Hindus. He explained that no teacher has ever recommended the book to students and it was not issued to any student. When ABVP members accessed the book and raised objections, it was promptly withdrawn and an enquiry ordered. Even after this, ABVP members continued with their agitation, widening its scope. They asked why there were so many Muslim teachers, and alleged that they were promoting anti-national thought on campus and luring Hindu women students into ‘love jihad’ – the term Hindutva groups use for a mythical Muslim conspiracy to convert Hindus to Islam.
This story was originally published in thewire.in . Read the full story here
