Not that people haven't be harassed in the past for their Facebook posts on political issues, the threat has just become more pronounced. You may get accused of being 'anti-national', thanks to your Facebook posts now.
Students of Lucknow University disrupted classes, held protests, burnt a professor's effigy on the campus and submitted a memorandum to Vice-Chancellor S B Nimse, asking him to take action against their 62-year-old professor Rajesh Misra. His mistake? He had shared the article “Umar Khalid, my son”, that appeared in The Indian Express on February 23 on his Facebook page.
According to reports, students affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) took snapshots of Professor Misra’s Facebook page, on which he had shared the article, and circulated in the campus.
"Our point is that one shares things which he or she supports, and supporting anti-national elements would not be allowed here,” ABVP leader Anurag Tiwari, who led the protest, told Indian Express.
In the memorandum to the University's vice-chancellor, ABVP demanded strict action against the professor.
"He is an anti-national. When he comes to the campus, we will welcome him with a garland of shoes," said an ABVP activist.
Mishra has been given three days to explain his post, and "any action would be taken after that", reported Times Of India.
Meanwhile, Misra, has no idea why there are protests against him.
“I have taught for about 36 years, and I am like a grandfather to all of them (students)… I have always respected and stood for freedom of students. I know Apoorvanand and when I read the article, I liked it and thus decided to share it,” he said.
The Professor, who is on extension at the University, said that and if they decide not to give him further extension, he will respect the decision. "Everyone has a right to their own opinion," he said.
Even as a group of over 100 students of LU staged a protest outside the main gate of the campus, raising slogans that they would not allow “anti-national activities” on the campus, Misra wrote another post on Facebook clarifying his stand.
"While I myself am totally against any slogans in favour of Afzal Guru's extremist ideas, slogans which are pro-Pakistan or breaking India into pieces, I am also of the view that every caution should be taken before declaring students criminals, and their views should be sympathetically heard, else their whole life and career may be at stake," he posted.
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Students of Lucknow University disrupted classes, held protests, burnt a professor's effigy on the campus and submitted a memorandum to Vice-Chancellor S B Nimse, asking him to take action against their 62-year-old professor Rajesh Misra. His mistake? He had shared the article “Umar Khalid, my son”, that appeared in The Indian Express on February 23 on his Facebook page.
According to reports, students affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) took snapshots of Professor Misra’s Facebook page, on which he had shared the article, and circulated in the campus.
"Our point is that one shares things which he or she supports, and supporting anti-national elements would not be allowed here,” ABVP leader Anurag Tiwari, who led the protest, told Indian Express.
In the memorandum to the University's vice-chancellor, ABVP demanded strict action against the professor.
"He is an anti-national. When he comes to the campus, we will welcome him with a garland of shoes," said an ABVP activist.
Mishra has been given three days to explain his post, and "any action would be taken after that", reported Times Of India.
Meanwhile, Misra, has no idea why there are protests against him.
“I have taught for about 36 years, and I am like a grandfather to all of them (students)… I have always respected and stood for freedom of students. I know Apoorvanand and when I read the article, I liked it and thus decided to share it,” he said.
The Professor, who is on extension at the University, said that and if they decide not to give him further extension, he will respect the decision. "Everyone has a right to their own opinion," he said.
Even as a group of over 100 students of LU staged a protest outside the main gate of the campus, raising slogans that they would not allow “anti-national activities” on the campus, Misra wrote another post on Facebook clarifying his stand.
"While I myself am totally against any slogans in favour of Afzal Guru's extremist ideas, slogans which are pro-Pakistan or breaking India into pieces, I am also of the view that every caution should be taken before declaring students criminals, and their views should be sympathetically heard, else their whole life and career may be at stake," he posted.
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