BHU appointment row: Ex-BHU VC writes to President

VARANASI Former vice chancellor of the BHU, Prof YC Simhadri, has written a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind, expressing deep concerns on the protests over appointment

VARANASI Former vice chancellor of the BHU, Prof YC Simhadri, has written a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind, expressing deep concerns on the protests over appointment of a Muslim as an assistant professor in Sahitya department of faculty of Sanskrit Vidya Dharma Vijnan. He said it was heartening to see a young scholar was unanimously selected and recommended by a group of experts.

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He said the misguided protests challenged the legitimate authority of a central university. He said the protests were not only wrong but also discouraging for the academic atmosphere and the agitation was not in the interest of the university, public and the entire academic system.

He reiterated that the central universities function as per the Constitution of India and hence the protests against the appointment were unconstitutional.

Simhadri underlined that the central universities are autonomous bodies and that autonomy is also enjoyed by their selection committees. The protests in this case amount to questioning the autonomy of Banaras Hindu University. Prof Simhadri said India has ancient ethos, which teach us to respect all religions, all people and groups.