Rajasthan: A student from Rajasthan College was stopped to offer a namaz inside the college premises following which the Congress MLA wrote to the Rajsthan Chief Minister demanding action against the vice-principal.
Sohil Khan, who is enrolled in a BA (General) course in the college, told reporters that he was offering namaz in a park on the college premises when a guard came over and asked him to stop.
“I had reached college early as I had an exam at 2 pm. I thought I would offer namaz in the Urdu classroom, where students usually pray. But because of the exams, no one was allowed to enter the classroom before 2 pm. Then I decided to offer namaz in the park on the college premises. But while I was praying, a guard came over, asking students why I was being allowed to offer namaz in the park,” The Indian Express quoted Khan as saying.
He added: “Then he told me that I have to go to the parking lot or Commerce College if I have to offer namaz. After that, I went to the parking lot.”
The guard said vice-principal Sharma had asked him to not allow Khan to offer namaz there, the report said quoting the student.
He added, “If the vice-principal had said this to me personally, I would have happily obliged. But the way the guard disrupted my prayers in front of everyone was not nice at all. I hope this doesn’t happen with anyone else.”
After the matter came to light, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members organized a protest against offering namaz on campus and chanted Hanuman Chalisa.
ABVP is a right-wing all-India student organization affiliated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
“The teacher who took objection is affiliated to the RSS. The student was offering namaz in an open ground. Harassing someone in the name of religion is wrong,” NSUI district president Rajesh Chaudhary told reporters.
Quoting Ibrahim Nagouri, a student at the Urdu Department of the college, the report said, “We filed a complaint to principal S L Sharma and he had sought 15 days to conduct a probe.
“We want R N Sharma to be removed from the vice-principal’s post. If the university doesn’t fulfil our demand, we will escalate the issue. How can a person be stopped from offering namaz on campus?” he asked.
The report quoting Principal S L Sharma said he has talked to the student and the matter has been settled now.
“An education institution should not allow any activity on campus which is of non-academic nature. Even though we sought 15 days to conduct a probe, our stand on the matter is very clear. We don’t want any student to perform any non-academic activity on the campus, be it religious or political. The religious virus has entered our campuses and it is a big threat to our educational institutions. I don’t support offering namaz on campus or ABVP chanting Hanuman Chalisa in protest,” he added.
Meanwhile, Jaipur MLA has written to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, demanding action against a college vice-principal.
Kagzi in his letter said college vice-principal RN Sharma was behind the incident to stop students from offering namaz in a corner of a parking lot. He sought appropriate action against Sharma.
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