Sharda University has issued a show-cause notice to Professor Waqas Farooq Kuttay for framing a question that equated Hinduism with Nazism and Fascism. Previously, it was stated that the professor who asked the question had been suspended, but now he has also been notified of a show-cause notice.
Sharda University in Noida had come under scrutiny owing to anti-Hindu remarks. Hindus were equated to fascists in a question paper set for the BA Political Science batch of 2021-2022.
According to BJP politician Vikas Pritam Sinha, it was purportedly prepared by a Muslim teacher. In his post, the BJP leader mentioned Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Dharmendra Pradhan, and Shalabh Mani Tripathi.
यूनिवर्सिटी का नाम ‘शारदा’ पर कृत्य देखिए कि परीक्षा में छात्रों को ‘हिन्दुत्व’ को अनिवार्य रूप से फासी और नाजीवाद के समकक्ष सिद्ध करने के लिए कहा जा रहा है। यह प्रश्नपत्र कथित रूप से किसी मुस्लिम शिक्षक द्वारा बनाया गया है. (Q no. 6)@myogiadityanath @dpradhanbjp @shalabhmani pic.twitter.com/rtTTJzyA0u
— विकास प्रीतम सिन्हा (@VikashPreetam) May 6, 2022
The fifth question on this question paper was, “What are the core reasons behind religious conversion?” At the same time, number six was, “Do you see find any similarity between Nazism/Fascist and the Hindu right-wing (Hindutva)?” In the question paper both the questions have been asked to be explained in detail.
Following notification of the issue, the university formed a three-member committee to investigate the matter.
This committee met with the students on Saturday, May 7, 2022. Professor Waqas Farooq Kuttay, who framed the question, was then served with a show-cause notice. In its preliminary investigation, the Committee also determined that the aforementioned question was inappropriate. It was also determined that this question would be omitted during answer sheet checking and marking and would have no bearing on the grade.
— Sharda University (@sharda_uni) May 7, 2022
Sharda University’s Registrar posted a message on social media in which he stated that the Vice-Chancellor (VC) has also endorsed these suggestions. In addition, the university’s administration has apologised to the students for the question paper.
It is worth noting that Waqas Farooq Kuttay also attended Jamia Millia Islamia University. He had passed the JRF and NET (National Eligibility Test) exams. He continues to write articles targeted toward nationalists. He has criticised the Indian Army while writing on Kashmir. In some ways, he held the Indian government responsible for the terrorism in Kashmir.
