The Aligarh Society of History and Archaeology (ASHA) claimed that historian Irfan Habib was pushed by security officers of Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and condemned the act on Sunday, 29 December.
This comes after Khan, on Saturday, kicked up a storm after he spoke in support of the Citizenship law at the Indian History Congress event in Kannur. He also claimed that the historian, in-fact, had pushed his ADC and security officer.
In a statement, ASHA said that Habib got up from his seat “to request the governor to refrain from turning IHC into his political arena. As soon as Professor Habib went there, the ADC and the security officer of the governor pushed him and tried to stop him. The governor too started accusing Habib of trying to stop him from speaking.”
According to an article in NDTV, the delegates complained that Khan was quoting leaders out of context at the event, but Khan said he had only responded to points raised by previous speakers as a person duty bound to defend and protect the Constitution.
Taking to Twitter after the event, Khan alleged that Irfan Habib, who was on the stage, tried to disrupt his inaugural address and asked Khan to quote Nathuram Godse instead of Maulana Azad.
Students Raised Slogans, Protested as Khan Spoke
Not just the delegates, but black flags and placards were shown to Khan by the Youth Congress and workers of the Kerala Students’ Union (KSU). According to The News Minute, six Congress workers, including KSU district president P Muhammed Shammas, were taken into custody by the police.
The article also quoted the secretary of the Indian History Congress as saying, “some of the delegates were peacefully standing and holding placards. They were roughed up by the police.”
Some students from different universities, who were present at the event and raised slogans, were whisked away by the police.
However, Khan was undeterred by the protests and repeatedly said, “You have every right to protest. But you cannot shout me down.”
(With inputs from TNM and NDTV)
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