Activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI) on Tuesday took out a march to the National Institute of Technology-Calicut (NIT-C) seeking action against a professor there, who recently courted controversy by praising Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi.
The march was stopped at the institute entrance by the police. K. Anusree, State president, SFI, opened the protest. Referring to a protest held by activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) the previous day in which photos of Godse were burnt, she wondered if the ABVP had started opposing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) too. ABVP activists had the other day claimed that the RSS had no role in the murder of the Mahatma.
Meanwhile, the Kunnamangalam police have registered a case against 10 students based on a complaint by Vysakh Premkumar, who was allegedly beaten up by the group after he expressed his dissent against an event organised by the Science and Spirituality Club on the campus. A saffron-coloured map of India was drawn after the event, and Mr. Premkumar staged a protest carrying a placard ‘India is not a Rama Rajya’.
Shaija Andavan, a professor attached to the mechanical engineering department at the NIT-C, had written, “Proud of Godse for saving India” under a post by Krishnaraj, a lawyer. The post had said that Hindu Mahasabha leader Godse was a “hero” for many in “Bharat”. The police are yet to record Ms. Andavan’s statement.
