The Rajasthan High Court on Monday stayed the decision of Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur, to suspend a professor for inviting Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Nivedita Menon (pictured above) to speak at a conference on campus. The court issued notices to the university’s registrar and vice chancellor. The registrar, however, told The Indian Express they knew nothing of such a notice yet.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-linked youth organisation Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad had protested against Menon’s presence at the event and her speech on February 2. The ABVP has differed with Menon on her analysis of the crisis in Kashmir.
The professor who organised the conference, Rajshri Ranawat was sent a show cause notice by the university the day after the event and had an inquiry instituted against her on February 3. She was forced to leave Jodhpur for a few days after the backlash, and returned to find that her university had suspended her.
“I was asked to explain why I had invited such a controversial figure, if I had asked what she was going to say and who had approved her speech and finally, if I had introduced her as someone who is known to make ‘anti-national’ speeches,” Ranawat had told Scroll.in. She said she had simply invited Menon as a resource person and a political scientist.
The university had also filed a police complaint against Menon and Ranawat. Ranawat had challenged the university’s actions on March 1.
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