Hyderabad: University of Hyderabad proctor Dr Alok Pandey’s alleged affiliation with the RSS was a matter of discussion on the campus on Wednesday. Students shared screenshots of Prof. Pandey’s Facebook posts, in which he praises the RSS and the BJP.
In a series of photographs of an RSS event shared by the proctor, the caption reads, “Look at this you idiots, who don’t leave any chance to abuse RSS”.
Students allege the proctor played an important role in the suspension of Rohith and four other students after taking orders from RSS leaders.
“Prof. Pandey was one of the people who misused his official powers and suspended Rohith and four other ASA leaders. Earlier, when their suspension was revoked by the former vice-chancellor, this RSS pracharak threatened to resign from his post,” said Dayal Paleri, a student who shared the screenshot of Pandey’s FB posts.
The agitators alleged that Prof. Pandey and vice-chancellor had been conspiring to suppress the voice of dissent and promote saffron ideas.
Mohan Guruswamy debunks RSS claim
Prominent academician Mohan Guruswamy has pleaded for introspection on Rohith Vemula’s death instead of focusing attention on the ‘caste’ belonged to. He also played down the video circulated by RSS-ABVP activists on social media, in which the deceased PhD scholar denounced Hindutva.
Said Guruswamy on his facebook page, “Rohith, it is said, was not a Dalit. In local terms, his community is not a Mala or Madiga. He belonged to the Waddar caste of stonecutters and quarry workers, who are listed as a backward caste community. “The plight of most Waddars is worse than that of most Dalits. They are economically and socially at the bottom of the ladder. Waddars have been pressing for their inclusion in the SC category for long. My friend, the late MB Kumar, spent most of his life fighting for this. Waddars are widely and thinly dispersed and hence no political party has seen any (scope to) profit (from helping them).”
“The local police and the TRS leadership have been making much ado about the fact that Rohit Vemula was a Waddar and not a Dalit. Suppose it was so. Does it then mitigate the crime against him,” the academician asked.
“The ABVP/RSS has been circulating a video clip of Rohit Vemula showing him denouncing the notion of Hindutva in acerbic language. I have seen this clip. In this clip Rohit is being interrogated by ABVP supporters and he answers that he will fight it everywhere and anywhere. He is speaking in Telugu. The literal translation in English of the term he uses to state this is a commonly used four letter word,” he said.
He added that this was a time for introspection. “Why did things happen this way? Why was (Rohith) pushed to extinguish his life? Maybe there is something we might yet learn from this.”
