After a student accused the Banaras Hindu University of caste-based discrimination, a faculty member has now levelled the same charge.
Mahesh Prasad Ahirwar, a professor in the department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, has alleged that as the senior most in his department, he should have been appointed as its head. However, on March 31, the VC appointed Sushma Ghildiyal, the Dean, Faculty of Arts, to the position.
Ahirwar, who is a Dalit said, “This is a grotesque form of caste discrimination”.
While no one from the university administration was willing to go on record, one senior member said that there would be a meeting to decide seniority. This, Ahirwar said, is not in accordance with any rules, since his seniority is an established fact, and head post is given by rotation to the senior most members for a period of three years.
He is ready to approach the courts, if the university does not appoint him.
Last week, an aspiring PhD student, Shivam Sonkar began a dharna outside the residence of the Vice Chancellor to protest denial of admission to the programme despite securing the second rank in the general category in the entrance exam.
Earlier too the BHU administration has been charged with being casteist.
Dr Shobhana Narlikar, the first Dalit woman in the country to hold the post of Chairperson in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication in the university, had to fight a long battle to get her dues.
She said that her promotions were stopped since 2017.
Her allegation was that whenever an interview was to be held for her promotion, it was cancelled at the last moment. Despite fulfilling all the criteria, she was not made professor. Not only were her juniors promoted, those without the requisite qualifications also got ahead of her.
She said she was made head of the department only when the university had no more leeway for any more tricks. She sat on a dharna alone for weeks before the university relented.
