Kasargod: The charge was that Dr Pannian criticized the university on the Facebook for the arrest of dalit PhD scholar G. Nagaraju who was jailed for five days for breaking the window pane of the fire extinguisher at the hostel. Another issue was the dismissal of a student, Akhil Thazhath, on the charge that he used abusive language against the VC, which Akhil denied. The forum says that saffronisation of the university had commenced since its inception in 2009. “Putting Nagaraju in jail is not an isolated incident. The pro-Sangh Parivar regime targeted Nagaraju as he was associated with Rohit Vemula at the Hyderabad University. Nagaraju belongs to the most impoverished Mala scheduled caste community in Telangana. These are all deliberate,” said Mr Pulikkodan. The forum feels that the university dictum against Dr Pannian and Dr Sebastian also has a caste angle. “CUK authorities are implementing a sectarian agenda,” pointed out Dr T.M. Surendranath, district president of Sarvodaya Mandalam. CUK Pro-Vice-Chancellor Dr K. Jayaprasad dismissed the caste angle. “The first student expelled from the university was a Tamil Brahmin due to substance abuse. These allegations arise out of frustration as the university applies central civil services (CCS) rules to the staff,” he said. Kasargod: The like-minded organizations here have floated an alliance to fight the ‘saffronisation’ and regimentation at the Central University of Kerala (CUK).
The ‘Save CUK Forum’ which will seek support from all quarters, including political parties and elected representatives, will hold a convention at Hosdurg on September 24, followed by a sit-in dharna at Kanjangad.
Organizations like Sarvodaya Mandalam, District Environmental Samiti, Human Protection Council, Genuine Ecological Education and Vigilant Action (GEEVA) and Ambedkarites are behind the initiative. “Apart from saffronisation at the CUK, there is a deliberate attempt to deny higher education to the students from
marginalised communities,” says Dr Mohanan Pulikkodan, one of the organisers.
In the latest incident, Dr Gilbert Sebastian (assistant professor, department of international relations and politics) was given a memo for taking part in the Raj Bhavan march on May 15 organised by rights activists protesting against the Gadchiroli encounter in Maharashtra in which several Maoists were killed.
The removal of associate professor Dr Prasad Pannian as HoD of the department of English and comparative literature was another action which invited widespread criticism.
The charge was that Dr Pannian criticized the university on the Facebook for the arrest of dalit PhD scholar G. Nagaraju who was jailed for five days for breaking the window pane of the fire extinguisher at the hostel.
