[Reader-list] Footsteps of Fascism: Condemn the attack by Hindutva Goons on Dalit College Teacher in Dhule

[Asit Das]

*Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association*

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*Footsteps of Fascism: Hindutva Goons attack Dalit College Teacher in Dhule*

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Following swiftly on the heels of communal violence in Dhule in which six
members of the minority community were killed, comes the news of physical
assault on Prof. Pramod Bhumbe, a Dalit teacher at the BR Ambedkar Samaj
Karya Mahavidyalay. Friends in Dhule and Jalgaon inform us that Prof.
Bhumbe while teaching his students about Indian social reforms movement,
discussed certain episodes from the Hindu epic Ramayana. This was
videographed by a student on his cell phone and the video clip later
circulated and handed over to VHP and Bajrang Dal goons.  The clip was
quickly construed as proof of Prof. Bhumbe’s insult to Hinduism.



Teaching social reform movements without reference to the stinging critique
of caste oppression and its implication in religious sanction is difficult
anywhere. In Maharashtra, however, it is impossible. The legacy of Jyotiba
and Savitri Phule, and Ambedkar is a living, thriving one. It survives in
the fiery songs of Sambhaji Bhagat; in the hundreds of book festivals and
cultural groups that can be found in the smallest towns and hamlets of the
state. It is this culture of resistance, which often takes the form of
sarcasm, and even ridicule of the superstitions of caste religion and its
assorted institutions that Hindutva resents so much.



While Muslims are always cast as the other, radical Dalit critique cannot
be domesticated and absorbed into the Hindutva identity.  The two
incidents—of communal violence and the attack on Prof. Bhumbe – are not
unrelated. They reflect the growing confidence of the Hindutva forces and
the state support they enjoy, even under the rule of their political
opponents. Neither the SP not the DM of Dhule have been suspended by the
state government despite the clear indictment of the administration in the
January anti-minority violence by civil society investigations. Can an
administration, which was hand in glove with the storm troopers of VHP and
Bajrang Dal in January, be expected to seriously pursue the case against
Prof. Bhumbe’s attackers?  We appeal to all progressive and democratic
groups in Maharashtra to ensure the security and safety of Prof Bhumbe, as
the police which led the mobs against a vulnerable minority can hardly be
entrusted to do so.



Moreover, as fellow teachers, we expect the classroom to be a space of
developing and nurturing social critique—precisely what Prof. Bhumbe was
doing. We stand in solidarity with him and condemn the right wing
vigilantism.



Sd/-

Manisha Sethi, Adil Mehdi, Ahmed Sohaib, Tanweer Fazal, Arshad Alam, Farah
Farooqi, Azra Razack, Anwar Alam, Ghazi Shahnawaz, Ambarien al Qadar, Adnan
Farooqi, Sucharita Sengupta, Manoj Jena, MS Bhatt and Nabanipa Bhattacharya.





Also endorsed by

Teesta Setalvad, Shabnam Hashmi, Peggy Mohan and Githa Hariharan





www.teacherssolidarity.org