Indore: 6 teachers taken off duty for promoting 'anti-national' ideas
Indore Government Law College took six of their teachers, including four Muslims, temporarily off duty on Thursday. The move came after Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) accused them of being anti-establishment and encouraging "negative thoughts" and fundamentalism against the Central government. The college principal confirmed that these teachers would not teach for the next five days while a judicial inquiry is conducted.
'Promoting negative thoughts against establishment, army'
Head of ABVP at the college, Dipendra Thakur, stated in a complaint to principal Dr. Inamur Rahman that a few teachers were promoting "religious fundamentalism and negative thoughts about the government and the Army" among students belonging to the first year. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) student wing activists also claimed that two of the teachers hail from Kashmir.
Who are the accused teachers?
The accused include two Hindu and four Muslim teachers viz., Professor Mirza Moziz Beg, Professor Ameek Khokar, Professor Suhail Ahmed Wani, Professor Milind Kumar Gautam, Professor Feroze Ahmed Meer, and Poornima Bise.
ABVP's complaint to college on the teachers
On Thursday, activists of the ABVP staged a protest outside the principal's office, calling for action against these teachers. The principal, Muslim teachers, and students reportedly offered namaaz (prayer) on Fridays, and during this time, classes were not held, as per the alleged complaint. "Non-vegetarianism" and "love jihad" were allegedly promoted on campus, it further claimed.
What did the suspended teachers say?
The provincial secretary of ABVP, Ghanshyam Singh and Lucky Adiwal claimed that the teachers called the Centre's move to abolish Article 370 a blunder. "They told them that the country was happier during the regime of Akbar and Babur," the two claimed. Furthermore, they also alleged that these teachers were conducting a signature campaign against the Centre's National Education Policy (NEP) 2022.
Principal Rahman's response to ABVP's claims
The principal stated that the environment inside the college wasn't how it's defined in the official complaint. "As the ABVP's complaint is serious, I have decided that an inquiry should be conducted by a retired judge of the district court," Rahman said. On the Hindu teachers, Rahman stated that ABVP accused them of behaving in an autocratic manner and not speaking correctly with students.
