Jammu University prof suspended over allegations of calling Bhagat Singh a terrorist

Jammu, Nov 30: Jammu University has reportedly suspended professor Mohammad Tajuddin who has been accused of calling Bhagat Singh a terrorist in one of his lectures. A six-member inquiry committee has been constituted to probe entire matter.

Professor Tajuddin, however, said that he used the word terrorist in a different context and made a 25 seconds video clip from his 2-hour long lecture on Russian revolutionary Lenin.

"I was teaching about the Russian revolutionary Lenin and in that context, I said state calls any violence against it 'terrorism'. Someone took a 25-second video out of my two-hour lecture. The terrorist word came in that, it wasn't what I meant. Still, if anyone is hurt, I'm really sorry for it," the professor was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

"I also consider Bhagat Singh a revolutionary. He is one of the people who sacrificed their lives for the country," he said.

A clipping of a part of lecture, in which he purportedly calls Bhagat Singh a terrorist, went viral on social media, sparking outrage.

"....this has happened in our country also during the independence struggle. We see Bhagat Singh as hero but they were also terrorist... for a political.." he can be heard as saying in the video. The 24 second long video ends abruptly.

Enraged at the remark, students of the university wrote a letter to Vice-Chancellor Manoj Dhar, demanding an action against Tajuddin.

"Some students came to me last evening and told me about this incident. They submitted a CD as proof. I have immediately formed an inquiry committee. We have disassociated him from teaching till inquiry committee submits the report," Prof Dhar, Vice Chancellor, Jammu University, told ANI.

"The 6-member committee will look into the entire incident. Let's wait for outcome of the inquiry committee and based on that, we will take further action," he said.

In 2016, there was an uproar after it came to fore that a Delhi University's (DU) text book refered to Bhagat Singh as a terrorist.