Allahabad Univ Prof Says: 'People May Regard Cow as Their Mother, But Mine is Savitribai Phule

Allahabad- Last week, during a meeting of the Executive Council chaired by Vice-Chancellor Professor Sangeeta Srivastava in the North Hall of Allahabad University's Senate Complex, it was decided that if any teacher or employee of the university is found tarnishing its image, they will not be granted gratuity upon retirement. Moreover, the council approved that employees found guilty of corruption, sexual harassment, absenteeism, or engaging in any other activity harmful to the university’s reputation will also forfeit their retirement benefits according to the university’s code of conduct.

Additionally, the council approved a social media guideline stating that university employees may only post about the university on social media platforms with the Vice-Chancellor's approval.

In connection to this, it was decided that a warning would be issued to Dr. Vikram Harijan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medieval and Modern History, for allegedly making offensive remarks about deities.

The registrar’s December 2020 order, regarding social media usage for faculty and staff, will also be reissued. Faculty and non-teaching staff have been instructed that no input should be sent to the press without the Vice-Chancellor's consent, and all information must be routed through the university’s Public Relations Office.

Speaking to The Mooknayak, Assistant Professor Dr. Vikram Harijan said, "I haven’t received any written directive yet. If they issue one, I’ll take the matter to the High Court. Through media reports, I’ve learned that the university administration is claiming I’ve made comments against Hindu deities on social media. But I have not insulted any deity. I simply stated that others may choose to revere the cow as their mother, but I’ll honor Savitribai Phule as mine."

He further added, "As a professor, it is my responsibility to promote scientific temperament, and that is exactly what I’m doing. If there are problems within religion, why shouldn’t we address them? If religion turns our women into Devadasis, why shouldn’t I raise that issue? If religion doesn’t adhere to our Constitution and laws, questioning it is our right. It won’t work that just because it’s religion or faith, we cannot challenge it."

He continued, "Based on caste, you assigned certain tasks to Brahmins and others to Kshatriyas, and then you thrust the responsibility of cleaning onto Dalits. You deliberately decided that we should do the dirty work. This was dictated by religion, wasn’t it? Our Constitution didn’t say so. So, if religion is wrong, how can we support it? It is not acceptable that we ignore religion’s promotion of the Devadasi system, Sati tradition, casteism, and superstition just because it comes under the name of religion."