Protests in University over Muslim professor’s appointment

Agencies

November 8, 2019

Banaras, Nov 8: The appointment of a Muslim assistant professor in the literature department of the faculty of Sanskrit Vidya Dharm Vigyan (SVDV) of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has triggered protests.

Research scholars and students of the department started a sit-in at Holkar Bhawan near vice-chancellor's residence on the varsity campus from Thursday. They played musical instruments to attract attention towards their demand.

They are demanding the cancellation of the appointment of a 'non-Hindu'.

However, the BHU administration has made it clear that "the appointment has been made as per the University Grants Commission (UGC) rules and the BHU Act in a transparent manner based on the eligibility of the candidate".

The protestors, in a letter to the BHU vice-chancellor Rakesh Bhatnagar, have claimed that the varsity's founder, late Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya had termed the SVDV faculty as the heart of the varsity.

"The stone plate of the faculty also contains that this institution is for cultural, religious, historical debates and discussion of Sanatan Hindus and their direct or indirect branches like Arya Samaj, Buddh, Jain, Sikh, etc.", the letter pointed out.

The protestors said that despite knowing all these facts, a 'non-Hindu' has been appointed, which seems to be a conspiracy. They allege that as the new appointment is against the soul and spirit of the institution, it should be cancelled immediately.

BHU spokesman Rajesh Singh said: "The appointment has been made following an interview in the 'Sahitya' (literature) department of the faculty of SVDV. The varsity has made the appointment as per the UGC rules and the BHU Act, in which discrimination on the basis of caste and creed has no place. The appointment has been made with full transparency and only on the basis of the eligibility of candidate."

However, he declined to comment on the protests.

Comments

A game played by the Jewish trained communal group just to poke their nose with religious matter and target one particular community and ignite communal unrest in education field. Next they will appoint a professor from the Nagpur head quarter to teach some other religions faith with wrong and incorrect interpretation.

Since bjp is in the central there so many surprises and strange will happen if the peace-loving patriot Indian's

not awake.

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‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras High Court cites Prophet Muhammad’s teaching while ordering settlement of dues

News Network

December 21,2025

Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad—“pay the worker before his sweat dries”—the Madras High Court has directed a municipal corporation to settle long-pending legal dues owed to a former counsel. The court observed that this principle reflects basic fairness and applies equally to labour and service-related disputes.

Justice G. R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by advocate P. Thirumalai, who claimed that the Madurai City Municipal Corporation failed to pay him legal fees amounting to ₹13.05 lakh. Earlier, the High Court had asked the corporation to consider his representation. However, a later order rejected a major portion of his claim, prompting the present petition.

The court allowed Thirumalai to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and submit a list of cases in which he had appeared. It also directed the corporation to settle the verified fee bills within two months, without interest. The court noted that the petitioner had waited nearly 18 years before challenging the non-payment and that the corporation could not be fully blamed, as the fee bills were not submitted properly.

‘A Matter of Embarrassment’

Justice Swaminathan described it as a “matter of embarrassment” that the State has nearly a dozen Additional Advocate Generals. He observed that appointing too many law officers often leads to unnecessary allocation of work and frequent adjournments, as government counsel claim that senior officers are engaged elsewhere.

He expressed hope that such practices would end at least in the Madurai Bench of the High Court and added that Additional Advocate Generals should “turn a new leaf” from 2026 onwards.

‘Scandalously High Amounts’

While stating that the court cannot examine the exact fees paid to senior counsel or law officers, Justice Swaminathan stressed that good governance requires public funds to be used prudently. He expressed concern over the “scandalously high amounts” paid by government and quasi-government bodies to a few favoured law officers.

In contrast, the court noted that Thirumalai’s total claim was “a pittance” considering the large number of cases he had handled.

Background

Thirumalai served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for more than 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. During this period, he represented the corporation in about 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts.

As the former counsel was unable to hire a clerk to obtain certified copies of judgments in all 818 cases, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to collect the certified copies within two months. The court further ordered the corporation to bear the cost incurred by the DLSA and deduct that amount from the final settlement payable to the petitioner.

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