New Delhi- Virendra Balaji Shahare, a Dalit professor in the Social Work Department of Jamia Millia Islamia University, has been suspended for including a question in the exam paper related to atrocities against Muslim minorities. Those objecting to the question believe it is "inflammatory and communally polarizing." The professor from the Social Work Department has been suspended for posing it. An investigation has been ordered, and an FIR is being registered.

Kanchan Gupta, Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, posted the suspension order on social media and wrote, "JMI is a central university where students from different communities study. This question seems to have been asked with malicious intent."

The student community views the university administration's action as an attack on academic freedom and has united in support of the professor. They claim that the question was within the syllabus, a topic discussed in the classroom, and had been approved by the committee that vets question papers. If the suspension is not revoked, they have warned of launching a signature campaign starting tomorrow. Students say such actions create an atmosphere of fear in the university, where teachers and students will hesitate to openly discuss social issues. Other teachers at the university also appear to be standing with the professor, while a meeting of subject associations today is likely to discuss the issue.

Root of the dispute

The controversy began earlier this week with the first-semester BA (Hons) Social Work exam in the paper titled "Social Problems in India." One 15-mark question in the paper asked students to "discuss atrocities against Muslim minorities in India, providing relevant examples." Professor Virendra Balaji Shahare had prepared this test. Upon receiving complaints, the university deemed it an act of negligence and irresponsibility by the faculty member and suspended him.

A university official stated that a probe committee has been formed to investigate the matter. Until the committee submits its report, the concerned professor has been placed under suspension. The official further said that this step has been taken to maintain academic responsibility and institutional discipline. An order signed by Acting Registrar CA Sheikh Safiullah, which has been widely circulated on social media, confirms the suspension "until further orders."

Students believe that Virendra Balaji Shahare is being deliberately targeted due to his Dalit background. Speaking to The Mooknayak, one female student said that the question was not only part of the syllabus but directly linked to the core principles of social work education, such as inequality, marginalized communities, discrimination, and human rights. The professor had prepared the question based on facts, research, and constitutional values, which encouraged students to develop critical thinking. However, the university administration labeled it "provocative" and took immediate action against the professor by suspending him. Students allege that this action is targeted due to the professor's Dalit identity, as no questions have been raised about the committee that approved the question paper.

Students from the Social Work Department have issued a joint statement expressing their solidarity. The statement reads, "We the students of the Department of Social Work express our deep concern over the action taken against our professor in connection with a question set in a semester examination. As students trained in critical inquiry, social realities and constitutional values we firmly believe that the question in question paper of the BSW Exam falls well within the prescribed syllabus (attached in the annexure) and academic scope of social work education. Social Work education requires engagement with issues of inequality, marginalisation, discrimination and human rights. Discussing social problems, especially those affecting minority communities, is not only academically legitimate but essential to our discipline."

The students further emphasized that the professor has consistently upheld the highest standards of teaching, ethics, and academic integrity. The question was analytical, not inflammatory, and encouraged students to think critically about documented social realities using evidence, scholarship, and constitutional values.

The Mooknayak attempted to contact Professor Virendra Balaji Shahare for his response, and the report will be updated upon receiving it.