Professor suspended for referring Bhagat Singh as "terrorist"

Jammu: A day after senior professor referred Bhagat Singh as 'terrorist', the University of Jammu authorities on Friday disassociated him from teaching, an official here said.

The professor has been disassociated from teaching so that his contact with the students could not be established to avoid any law and order problem in the campus, a senior JU faculty member here told UNI.

He said that enquiry committee has been set up and the entire episode is being ascertained before submitting the report to the higher-ups.

Prof Manoj K Dhar, Vice Chancellor, Jammu University had constituted a high-level committee headed by the senior-most professor, to look into the complaint of students that senior professor and the head of the political science department, M Taj-ud-din on Thursday called freedom fighter Bhagat Singh a 'terrorist' while teaching students.

The incident however, came to light after a video clip of the episode recorded by a student went viral on the social media.

The students however, in a complaint submitted to the Vice Chancellor have alleged that the professor had hurt their feelings by describing Shaheed Bhagat Singh as a "terrorist" and they sought a strict action against him.

Meanwhile Prof M Taj-ud-din in a video of him circulated on social media soon after the episode claimed that he had no intention to hurt anyone's feelings and apologised.

?I was teaching the biography of Vladimir Lenin in the classroom and was explaining to students how he was referred to as a 'terrorist' by the czars. Then I explained how the state had referred to Bhagat Singh as a 'terrorist'. I had no intention to demean the personality of Bhagat Singh or for that matter hurt anyone's feelings. If it has happened, I am sorry,? the professor expressed.

He said that he has respect for the great Bhagat Singh and he was teaching that the British people used to term the freedom fighters as ?terrorists?, who were fighting the revolutionary movement and his remarks were related to that context only.(UNI)