Protests broke out in the prominent university of India, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), with the appointment of a Muslim assistant professor in the literature department of the faculty of Sanskrit Vidya Dharm Vigyan (SVDV).
With a unique style of protest, the students of the department played musical instruments to attract attention while sitting at the Holkar Bhawan near vice-chancellor’s residence on the varsity campus from Thursday.
The students protesting at the university are demanding the cancellation of appointment of a ‘non-Hindu’ in the department.
The varsity administration has made it clear that “the appointment has been made as per the University Grants Commission (UGC) rules and the BHU Act in a transparent manner based on the eligibility of the candidate”.
In a letter to the BHU Vice-Chancellor Rakesh Bhatnagar, the protesters have claimed that Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, the founder of the university had termed the SVDV faculty as the heart of the university.
“The stone plate of the faculty also contains that this institution is for cultural, religious, historical debates and discussion of Sanatan Hindus and their direct or indirect branches like Arya Samaj, Buddh, Jain, Sikh, etc.”, protestors said in the letter.
They alleged that despite knowing all the facts, a ‘non-Hindu’ has been appointed, which seems to be a conspiracy. They said that the new appointment is against the soul and spirit of the institution and it should be cancelled immediately.
In response to the allegations, BHU spokesman Rajesh Singh said, “The appointment has been made following an interview in the ‘Sahitya’ (literature) department of the faculty of SVDV. The varsity has made the appointment as per the UGC rules and the BHU Act, in which discrimination on the basis of caste and creed has no place. The appointment has been made with full transparency and only on the basis of the eligibility of candidate.”