On 19 November, actor Paresh Rawal took to social media to comment on the ongoing protests in Benaras Hindu University (BHU). The university recently appointed a Muslim scholar as a teacher in the literature department of Sanskrit Vidya Dharm Vigyan (SVDV) . This has sparked protests by a certain group of students.
Taking to Twitter, Paresh Rawal wrote about how he was “stunned” by the protest against the professor Firoz Khan, adding that Firoz Khan was perfectly qualified as he has a Masters degree as well as a PhD in Sanskrit.
He wrote, “Stunned by the protest against professor Firoz Khan !what language has to do with Religion!?!?!? Irony is professor Firoz has done his masters and PhD in Sanskrit !!! For Heavens sake stop this god damn idiocy !”
Rawal then used a reference to prove his point. He said that according to this logic, legendary singers like Mohammad Rafi should not have made bhajans.
He tweeted, “By same logic great singer late Shri Mohammad Rafi ji should not have sung any BHAJANS and Naushad Saab should not have composed it !!!!”
In response to the University’s appointment of the professor, research scholars and students started a dharna at Holkar Bhawan on 7 November. However, the BHU administration remains firm about its decision, with the vice-chancellor Rakesh Bhatnagar supporting the appointment. BHU administration has guaranteed that it will not discriminate on grounds of religion.
One of the students protesting against Firoz Khan’s appointment told The Indian Express that since the professor was not connected to the culture, he would not be able to understand the students of that culture.
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