Mumbai (AsiaNews) - Ultranationalist Hindu militants belonging to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal yesterday raided the office of the vice-chancellor of the Vikram University (Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh) and insulted the man, for "making statements in favor of students from Jammu and Kashmir". The professor, Jawahar Lal Kaul, was admitted to a private clinic for mental stress generated by the aggression. The university has filed a complaint against unknown persons, but so far no one has been arrested.
On Sunday, September 14, Kaul said that
the citizens of Madhya Pradesh
should people in Madhya Pradesh should waive-off rent and fees of Kashmiri
students [a Muslim majority,
ed] studying in the
state due to the recent
disastrous flooding. The Hindu radicals protested, asking
why "people like him" did not release
similar statements when the monsoons hit Uttarkhand
or Gujarat.
The case recalls a similar episode
dating to August 2006 in Ujjain,
when militants of
the Akhil Bharatiya Vudyarthu
Parishad (ABVP, radical Hindu student association) beat up Professor HS
Sabharwal. The man died of a heart attack caused by the aggression. However, at the time
a court released all defendants from
prison.