e n

More trouble for ‘anti-Ram’ Prof Guru

On June 20, after the police told the court that there was another year-old case pending against him, the court turned down his bail plea. Meanwhile, the Mysore University vice-chancellor has confirmed his suspension

Prof Mahesh Chandra Guru_2
Prof B.P. Mahesh Chandra Guru

There seems to no end to the travails of Mysore’s Dalit professor who is in prison for “insulting Ram”. On 17 June, a Mysore court had remanded B.P. Mahesh Chandra Guru in judicial custody in a case filed on 3 January 2015, when a Hindutva outfit lodged a complaint against the professor, alleging that he had “insulted Lord Ram”. After spending three days in jail, Prof Guru moved a bail petition on June 20. But after the police told the court that another year-old case against him was pending, the court turned down his bail plea. In the new case, Guru and three others have been accused of “hurting religious sentiments” although the police have yet to arrest the other accused.

Suspension

Meanwhile, Mysore University has suspended him. Prof Rangappa, vice-chancellor of the university, told FORWARD Press that a meeting of the university syndicate on Tuesday (21 June) morning decided to take this action against Prof Guru.

What do jurists say?

The court had remanded Prof Guru in judicial custody on 17 June stating that he had not appeared for two earlier hearings in the case. Prof Guru had told the court that he was unable to attend the hearings because he had to attend to his academic duties. Nihal Singh, a lawyer who practises in Bombay High Court, said, “The court could have avoided sending Prof Guru to jail. The accused himself appeared in court and explained why he could not attend the two earlier hearings. In such circumstances, in view of the fact that he has a government job, the court could have avoided sending him to jail. In fact, these could have been enough grounds to not send him to jail.”

Growing assaults

The question is whether right from the court to the university all institutions are rather too proactive on the issue. This question is important because of late, we can see a pattern emerging in the country.

 While on the one hand, rationalist Dalitbahujan thinkers have intensified their opposition to the cultural conditioning of the people, especially Dalitbahujans, through brahmanical myths, on the other hand brahmanical Hindutva forces have turned more aggressive. The big row kicked up by the Union Human Resources Development Minister over the so-called “insult of Goddess Durga” in Parliament must have given a fillip to these forces. In Hyderabad, Prof Kancha Ilaiah was booked for “hurting the feelings of Hindus” and an attempt was made to arrest him. In Manpur town of Chhattisgarh, Vivek Kumar, central convener of All India Mulnivasi Central Sangh, was arrested after he posted a comment on Devi Durga on his Facebook wall. Hinduvadi miscreants had indulged in vandalism on the issue and called for a bandh. The police picked up Vivek Kumar saying it feared an eruption of violence. He was released on bail recently after a 70-day incarceration. And now has come the harassment of Prof Guru.

About The Author

Sanjeev Chandan

Sanjeev Chandan, editor of leading feminist magazine Streekaal, is known for his feminist-Ambedkarite writings. He has been writing on current affairs for BBC and several Hindi newspapers and magazines. His collection of stories 546veen Seat ke Stri and poetry collection Stree Drishti are under publication.

Related Articles

Jagdeo Prasad wanted to forge a national confederation representing the exploited classes
‘DMK has been formed in Madras, Shoshit Dal in Bihar and Rashtriya Shoshit Sangh in Uttar Pradesh to secure freedom from the upper-caste imperialists....
Karpoori Thakur: When the chief minister offered to give a feudal lord a shave
Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur was known for his simplicity. He is remembered for granting reservations to the backward classes in Bihar. But do you...
Periyar insisted on proportional representation a century ago
The same Congress Party which Periyar quit about a century ago after it refused to consider proportional representation is now toeing the Periyar line...
Why Jagdeo Prasad insisted on a Savarna-free party
The Shoshit Dal came into being as a ‘nichhakka’ party of the exploited. Given the political scenario prevailing then Jagdeo Prasad underlined the need...
As I saw Hari Narke
Drawing inspiration from Dr Ambedkar, Hari Narke acquired an education. He was a brilliant student. While working in Telco, a Tata group company, he...