UP varsity bans professor over RSS exam questions amid Hindutva protests
Lucknow: A government-run university in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh has sparked backlash after barring a professor from all examination and evaluation work, following protests from Hindutva student activists over questions related to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) set in a university exam.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the controversy erupted after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS, raised objections to two specific questions in the MA Political Science final-year examination conducted by Chaudhary Charan Singh University (CCSU), a state-run institution in Meerut. The questions were perceived as critical of the RSS, the parent organization of the ruling BJP and other right-wing Hindu groups.
One of the questions asked students to identify which groups were considered “anomic,” or alienated from society, listing options including Dal Khalsa, Naxalite Groups, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, and the RSS. The second question seemed to link the RSS to the rise of religious and caste identity politics.
The ABVP condemned the inclusion of the RSS in this context. The student organization accused Professor Seema Panwar, the examiner responsible for the questions, of holding “anti-national” views. They argued that the questions had described the RSS as the reason for the emergence of religious and caste politics on the basis of the available options. By setting the question paper, the examiner has worked to tarnish the image of the Sangh among the students in the society. The ABVP threatened to start a big protest if the university did not act against her.
In response to the protests, the administration of CCSU swiftly acted to debar Professor Panwar from all examination-related duties for life. “She has been debarred from setting papers for life,” confirmed Dhirendra Kumar Verma, the registrar of the university. Many questioned whether academic independence is being undermined by political pressure.
Critics argue that this incident highlights the increasing influence of Hindutva in shaping academic discourse and the autonomy of universities in Modi’s India. By exerting pressure on academic bodies, the ABVP and other Hindutva-aligned student organizations are pushing to ensure that academic content aligns with their ideological narrative.
