The ‘controversial’ statement of Vice Chancellor of the University of Jammu Prof RD Sharma in which he reportedly opposed the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani has evoked strong reaction from various sections of society.
While student organisations have demanded that the VC be sacked for, what they alleged, insulting security forces, other groups have brought the matter to the notice of Governor NN Vohra.
The state unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) today said that such irresponsible utterances amounted to humiliating the security forces fighting the Pakistan-sponsored proxy war in the Kashmir valley.
ABVP state secretary Varsha Jandial said such statements demoralised the spirit of the forces. She said the Vice Chancellor should not ignore the fact that Burhan’s fight against the state had motivated a large number of youths, including teenagers, to take up arms.
Varsha said the separatist-sponsored shutdown had affected education as the schools, colleges and other educational institutions continued to remain shut in the Valley.
“Vice Chancellorship is an official position and he has no right to raise question marks on the security forces. We urge the Chancellor and the Pro-Chancellor of the university to take action against the VC. He must be removed from his official position,” the ABVP maintained.
Vikas Sharma, president, National Secular Forum, called the VC’s statement objectionable and against the popular nationalist sentiment of the countrymen.
Sharma, in a statement issued, said the comment by the VC was politically motivated and asserted that his position did not allow him to make such an irresponsible comment.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CCI), Jammu, in a communication addressed to the Governor, a copy of which was also sent to the Prime Minister’s Office, has expressed concern over the Vice Chancellor’s statement.
“It is a matter of highest concern for the CCI-J that Prof RD Sharma has said that Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani should have been captured alive to avoid the unrest in the Kashmir Valley.
“He also went to the extent of advising the government to resolve the ‘Kashmir problem’. We feel by using the words ‘Kashmir problem’, he has divided the state of J&K,” CCI president Rakesh Gupta said in the communiqué.
“We lodge our strongest protest against such a statement by a public servant who should limit his action to the overall improvement of academics rather than deliberating upon what he termed as Kashmir problem,” he said.
Condemning the recent utterance of the Vice Chancellor, the state BJP has said he brought disrepute to his profession and the position that he is holding.
BJP state spokesperson Balbir Ram Rattan said the Vice Chancellor has created doubts about his credentials as such a statement was not expected from an academician of his stature and it looks that he was playing in the hands of separatists and anti-national forces.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has demanded immediate sacking of the Vice Chancellor for pursing an anti-national agenda.
A VHP leader, Leela Karan Sharma, in a press conference, demanded action against the Vice Chancellor for supporting the forces which had launched a war against the country.
Meanwhile, the Jammu University today clarified that the varsity Vice-Chancellor, gave his personal opinion purely as an academician in view of burning of educational institutions in Kashmir and unrest prevailing therein’.
“The Vice-Chancellor on the repeated questions from one of the senior journalists with respect to the burning of educational institutions in Kashmir and the unrest prevailing therein, gave his personal opinion purely as an Academician”, the clarification issued by JU said.
“The version of the Vice-Chancellor was completely without any motive and purely in context of the much needed reforms in the society with respect to safeguarding the interests of the students of our state, particularly the Kashmir region”, it states.
The JU V-C had invited media to brief about the awarding of A+ grade to the varsity by the NAAC team recently and to list the achievements of the university on November 9 this year.
“We impress upon the stakeholders that the remarks given by the VC, which is already available on the social media as well, be interpreted in the light of academics pursuit only, as it is in no way aimed to promote and protect the interests or hurt the sentiments of any individual. Communication gap caused, if any, is regretted. It is unfortunate that some vested interests have started twisting the statement of the V-C to satiate their own objectives,”
