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Subramanian Swamy to be next vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University?

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subramanian swamy

New Delhi: HRD Ministry is believed to have offered the post of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) vice chancellor to BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, but he has put some conditions before accepting the coveted post.

It is learnt that HRD Minister Smriti Irani spoke to Swamy about the offer. However, there was no official communication from the Ministry.

It also remained unclear what riders the BJP leader has placed before the Ministry for accepting the offer.

Interestingly, the development comes even before the Union Ministry is to finalise the search-cum-selection committee for selecting the new VC. The current VC S K Sopory is set to retire in January next year.

As per the rules, a panel of names selected by the committee is sent to the President ( who is Visitor of the central varsities) by the HRD Ministry before the announcement of the new VC. The advertisements for inviting applications from the interested candidates for appointment of the new VC was given in August this year.

(PTI)

Janwadi Lekhak Sangh condemns police raid on FORWARD Press

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New Delhi: The Janwadi Lekhak Sangh, the city based writer’s forum, the Forum for Freedom of Expression and other organisations came in support of the ‘Bahujan- Shraman’ issue of FORWARD Press, and condemned the police raids against it today.

On the evening of October 9, the special branch of the Delhi police had raided the office of FORWARD Press on the basis of a complaint made in the Vasant Kunj police station which claims that FORWARD Press had published objectionable material about the Hindu deity Durga, on the basis of which students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) were organising ‘Mahishasur Martyrdom Day’.

Terming the raid by Delhi police as a “matter of deep concern”, the forum said that the police took these actions without order of any court or competent authority and said it deserves outright condemnation.

The latest issue of FORWARD Press, an independent Delhi based anti-caste magazine is focussed on Bahujan-Shraman tradition. The issue carries articles that interpret the Puranic story of the killing of Mahishasur by Durga as a struggle between the Aryans and the non-Aryans. “This may have angered the Hindutvadis, who have been routinely indulging in vandalism in the name of hurting religious sentiments,” the forum claimed.

The October 2014 issue of FORWARD Press. Photo: FORWARD Press

The October 2014 issue of FORWARD Press. Photo: FORWARD Press

“The Janwadi Lekhak Sangh strongly condemns the action against the magazine without any proper court order and views it as a violation of the fundamental right of freedom of expression. We also condemn the violence indulged in by the ABVP activists during the observance of ‘Mahishasur Martyrdom Day’ at JNU.”

“The Delhi police action and the ABVP vandalism are closely interlinked and manifest the growing assertiveness of the reactionary, communal-fascist forces since the Modi government coming to power and the aid being extended to them by the government machinery,” alleged the Forum in its press address.

The Forum demanded that action should be taken against police officials who ordered and conducted the illegal raid on FORWARD Press. It also called for “action” against those who do not “believe in expression of dissent while sticking to democratic norms.”

“VHP leader Praveen Togadia’s recent statement that history books written by Romila Thapar and Bipin Chandra should be burnt is an example of such tendencies.”

Om Sudha, the Convenor of ‘Forum for Freedom of Expression’,  has asked the Home Ministry to immediately withdraw the FIR lodged against FORWARD Press.

Delhi Police raids Dalit magazine FORWARD Press for allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments

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Photo: Forward Press

Photo: FORWARD Press

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Thursday raided the offices of FORWARD Press, the independent city based anti-caste magazine focusing on issues concerning the Dalit and other ‘backward class’ communities and reportedly confiscated copies of its October issue on grounds that it carried objectionable material about Hindu deity Durga.

Pramod Ranjan, the Consulting Editor of FORWARD Press said, “We strongly condemn the vandalism indulged in at the Nehru Place, New Delhi office of FORWARD Press on Oct 9 by Delhi Police. He said that the Delhi police illegally detained four staffers of the magazine on Thursday and now it is confiscating copies of the magazine from stalls in Delhi without any order of any court or competent authority. He claimed that the action was being taken ‘at the instance of fundamentalist forces, which is not only a blatant violation of the Freedom of Expression granted by the Constitution but also an attempt to stifle any logical-intellectual discourse”.

It may be mentioned here that two groups of students had clashed on Thursday on JNU campus over the observance of ‘Mahishasur Martyrdom Day’. Earlier, the police had raided the office of FORWARD Press on the basis of a complaint made in the Vasant Kunj police station of East Delhi. In the complaint, it has been claimed that FORWARD Press had published objectionable material about Goddess Durga, on the basis of which students of the JNU were organising ‘Mahishasur Martyrdom Day’.

Ranjan said in this regard that “The October 2014 issue of FORWARD Press was a special number devoted to ‘Bahujan-Shraman tradition’ and carries well-researched articles of leading writers and professors of prestigious universities. The Bahujan rendition of the story of ‘Mahishasur and Durga’ has been presented in words and through sketches and paintings.

“There is absolutely nothing in the issue that can be described as objectionable under the Indian Constitution. Our objective was not to humiliate or hurt the sentiments of any community or group. We are only trying to identify and rejuvenate the symbols of Bahujan culture and civilization. Anyway, Bahujan renditions of popular texts have a long tradition, starting from Jotiba Phule and going up to Ambedkar and Periyar.”

While condemning the raid as an attack on freedom of expression the magazine issued a press release claiming, “the action has been taken at the behest of the Brahamanical forces in the BJP,” the press note said. “Forward Press – a magazine of Dalits, OBCs and Tribals – has always been an eyesore for these forces. In the last couple of years, Forward Press has faced many attacks from these forces. The attacks have only strengthened our moral force. We are hopeful that we will be able to emerge with our head held high from this latest crisis too.”

Both the Editor-in-Chief and Consulting Editor of the magazine, have reportedly gone underground since the raid.

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