BHOPAL: A senior professor begged for apology by touching the feet of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) workers at a college in Madhya Pradesh, after the saffron student outfit activists alleged that he had stopped them from raising nationalist slogans.
Dr Dinesh Chandra Gupta, who has authored over 10 books, was taking class at the Rajiv Gandhi PG College in Mandsaur on Wednesday when an ABVP team reached there to submit a memorandum over delay in B.Sc results.
As the ABVP associated students raised slogans, Gupta requested them to stay quiet as it was disturbing the class. Instead of paying heed, the students accosted him there. Suddenly, an agitated ABVP youth accused Gupta of stopping them from raising ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ slogans. The ABVP youths demanded that Gupta apologise for it.
Shocked over the unfounded allegations, the professor asked the ABVP youths to stand in line and started touching their feet. Caught surprised by this unexpected response, the ABVP youths tried to stop Gupta from reaching to their feet and soon dispersed from the spot.
A visibly hurt Gupta followed the ABVP youths and continued to beg for apology, even as his colleagues and other students tried their best to stop him.
The matter came to light when the video of the entire episode went viral over social media on Thursday. In 2006, a political science professor HS Sabarwal had died after he was allegedly attacked by ABVP men in an Ujjain college. However, the accused youths were acquitted in the murder case by a Nagpur court in 2009.
Confirming Wednesday’s episode, college principal Dr Ravindra Kumar Sohoni said the ABVP leadership needs to seriously contemplate about the acts of its local leadership. “Dr Gupta is a senior professor, who has written 10-15 books. He is a heart and blood pressure patient, and such an incident shouldn’t have happened.”
Gupta is now on three-day leave from Thursday morning and is not reachable on his phone.
ABVP’s Mandsaur district convener Pawan Sharma claimed he was not present at the college when the episode began. “When I reached there I saw discussions between the students and our teacher, after which I intervened. I apologized to the teacher and ensured that the issue was resolved. None of us mounted any pressure on our teacher. We’ve deep respect for our teachers,” said Sharma.