A Karnataka college teacher has been suspended after comparing a Muslim student to a “terrorist” in class last week. A video of the student fighting back against his teacher went viral.
The incident occurred on Friday at Udipi’s Manipal Institute of Technology.
According to reports, the professor asked the student his name and, upon hearing a Muslim name, exclaimed, “Oh, you are like Kasab!” In 2012, Ajmal Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist apprehended alive after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, was executed.
In a widely circulated video, the student can be seen confronting the professor and accusing him of demeaning his religion by comparing him to a terrorist.
“26/11 was not funny. Being a Muslim in this country and facing all this every day is not funny, sir. You can’t joke about my religion, that too in such a derogatory manner. It’s not funny sir, it’s not,” As the teacher attempted to downplay an egregious remark, the student yelled.
“You are just like my son…” the professor said, trying to appease the student.
“Will you talk to your son like that? Will you call him by the name of a terrorist?” the student responded
As when the professor stated “No,” the student went on saying, “Then how can you call me like that in front of so many people? You are a professional, you are teaching. A sorry doesn’t change how you think or how you portray yourself here.”
A flat apology was heard from the teacher. Other students stood there silently watching the exchange.
The institute suspended the teacher and launched an investigation after the video went viral. According to the institute, the student received counselling.
“The institute has already initiated an inquiry into the incident and the concerned staff has been debarred from classes till the inquiry is over. We would like everyone to know that the institute does not condone this kind of behaviour and this isolated incident will be dealt with in accordance with the laid down policy,” said the statement It also stated that it was proud of its diverse student body and was committed to upholding constitutional values of treating everyone equally.
“Hello everyone, all of you must have seen a video going viral, wherein a student is telling his teacher that racist comments are not acceptable. The reason behind this was him calling me by an unacceptable name, Kasab, one of the biggest terrorists this country has ever seen. It was a joke, which cannot be considered a valid-enough reason to question the identity of a human being”, the student said in a WhatsApp post that was later circulated in one of the university’s student groups.
“However, I had a conversation with the lecturer and realised that he genuinely meant that apology, and we as a student community must let it go as a genuine mistake. I understand what was going on in his head and would like to believe he didn’t mean it. It came across wrong from a teacher, a person we admire, but it can be ignored this time. Thank you for standing with me through this. It means a lot,” the student said.