A Bahujan Professor of Lucknow University was on Wednesday allegedly assaulted by upper caste students for his comments on the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi.
The alleged incident took place on Wednesday, a day after an FIR was lodged against Prof. Ravi Kant for his comments over the ongoing Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanwapi controversy in Varanasi.
The accused Karthik Pandey who is a postgraduate student of Sanskrit at the Lucknow University has been arrested for breach of peace, reported the Indian Express.
According to Hindustan Times, the Lucknow University administration has suspended Pandey and formed a committee to probe the matter.
Prof. Kant said that Wednesday’s assault on him was in continuation with the May 10 incident.
“Today, I was going to take classes when Karthik Pandey came in front of me and started hurling abuses and attacking me. He also made casteist remarks,” said Kant.
Today, Prof. Ravikant Chandan was again assaulted in front of the Proctor office. The assailant threatened him and also used casteist slurs against him.
The Lucknow University administration must be held accountable for the repeated attacks on Prof. Ravikant. pic.twitter.com/yoPiVdM8Xb
— AISA Lucknow University (@aisa_lkouniv) May 18, 2022
Later, police took Pandey into custody. An FIR has been filed against Pandey and unidentified students under various IPC sections. Police also invoked SC/ST Act against the accused.
Prof. Ravi Kant (43) is an associate professor at Lucknow University and over a week ago he had commented on the demolition of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
In an online debate, the Professor while citing references from a book called “Feathers and Stones” by Pattabhi Sitaramayya had said that the Emperor ordered the demolition of the temple after women in his entourage were raped and robbed by Brahmin priests inside the temple.
He was soon threatened by several Hindu-Brahmanical outfits who stormed the university campus and were recorded raising disturbing and objectionable slogans against him as he moved around.
According to a report by the Indian Express, on May 10, police also filed a complaint against him at the behest of Brahmanical groups and he was arrested on multiple accusations, including promoting enmity.
Prof. Kant said that the assault on him on Wednesday was a follow-up to the incident on May 10.
Earlier, while talking to The Quint, he also pointed to the Capitalist-Brahmanical nexus behind the sorry state of affairs in Indian Universities.
Bahujan leaders of the State condemned the attack on the Professor and demanded strict punishment for the perpetrators.
In a tweet, Azad Samaj Party Chief Chandra Shekhar Azad said-
“Has the contract of knowledge been taken by only a few castes? FIR against LU Professor Ravi Kant, vocal on the issue of the underprivileged, shouting slogans like ‘Goli Maaro Saalon Ko’ means the killing of Bahujan thought. We stand together, and will not allow injustice to happen at any cost. Those who spread anarchy should be arrested”.
क्या ज्ञान का ठेका चंद जातियों ने ही ले रखा है? वंचितों के मुद्दे पर मुखर LU प्रोफेसर रविकांत के खिलाफ FIR, ‘गोली मारो सालों को’ जैसी नारेबाजी का मतलब बहुजन विचार की हत्या है। हम साथ खड़े हैं, किसी कीमत पर अन्याय नहीं होने देंगे। अराजकता फैलाने वालों को गिरफ्तार किया जाए। @dgpup pic.twitter.com/eBc6c1xoPg
— Chandra Shekhar Aazad (@BhimArmyChief) May 11, 2022
Also, the accused student is reportedly a member of the student wing of the Samajwadi Party in the Lucknow University unit.
According to Hindustan Times, the party has dismissed Pandey with immediate effect after learning about the incident.