Jammu University professor allegedly calls Bhagat Singh a terrorist, faces inquiry
Mohammad Taj-ud-din, who heads the political science department, apologised but said his remarks had been taken out of context.
The University of Jammu on Thursday ordered an inquiry after a senior professor allegedly referred to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh as a terrorist, reported ANI.
Vice Chancellor Manoj K Dhar said a six-member committee will look into the alleged remark by Mohammad Taj-ud-din, who heads the political science department.
Dhar said a few students had registered a complaint on Thursday and submitted a CD containing the video clip of Taj-ud-din’s remarks. “We have disassociated him from teaching till inquiry committee submits the report,” the vice chancellor added. Taj-ud-din, however, claimed he has not been suspended, reported News 18.
Taj-ud-din said he did not intend to hurt anyone’e feelings and apologised. He told ANI that he was teaching the students about Russian Communist leader Vladimir Lenin and how the state considers any violence against it to be terrorism.
“Then I explained how the state had referred to Bhagat Singh as a terrorist,” The Tribune quoted him as saying. “I had no intention to demean the personality of Bhagat Singh or for that matter hurt anyone’s feelings. If it has happened, I am sorry.”
The professor told ANI that he considers Singh to be a revolutionary. “In a university, things cannot be monitored like this,” Taj-ud-din told News 18. “A two-hour lecture cannot be seen in the context of just two minutes.”