‘It was not right, sorry,’ says Jammu university professor on calling Bhagat Singh a terrorist

The head of department of political science in Jammu University professor Muhammad Tajjudin was suspended on Friday after a video clip showing him calling freedom fighter Bhagat Singh a terrorist went viral on social media .

On the complaint filed by students against Tajuddin, vice chancellor of the university professor Manoj K Dhar said, “A six-member committee will look into the entire incident. Let’s wait for outcome of the inquiry committee and based on that, we’ll take further action.”

Professor Tajjudin said, “I was teaching Lenin in the class, whose brother was killed in a terror act and in that context I mentioned Bhagat Singh. Perhaps, it was not right on my part to say so. I am sorry for the remark. I called him a terrorist but those who believed in non-violence, especially Gandhians equated him with terrorism.”

The professor added, “Probably, students were not mature enough to grasp the concept. I had no intention to hurt their sentiments. The students could have shared their concern with me rather than making a video and sharing it on social media. Probably, I went wrong and I am really sorry for it”.

The video was recorded by a student, Deepak Gupta. “He could have given better examples of Afzal Guru, Ajmal Kasab, Hafiz Saeed and other terrorists... How can one call Bhagat Singh a terrorist,” he said.

Meanwhile, protests erupted on the campus both against and in favour of Professor Tajuddin. While the group supporting him said that being a political science professor, he has to be critical while teaching the subject, the opponents accused him of deliberately calling Bhagat Singh a terrorist and demanded that he be sacked.