The row over Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s cartoon took a nasty turn on Saturday, as four persons ransacked the office of Prof. Suhas Palshikar in the Pune University.
Prof. Palshikar is one of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) advisers who had resigned on Friday after several MPs objected to a cartoon of Dr Ambedkar in an NCERT Class 11 textbook. The Republican Panthers Party of India has claimed responsibility for the incident.
Four persons had come to discuss the issue with Prof. Palshikar, but the argument turned violent, with the youngsters ransacking the office premises. “The youngsters came to my office; I tried to clear the misunderstandings. While I was attempting to give my viewpoint, they started to raise slogans and then went on to damage the furniture in the office,” said Prof. Palshikar, adding that he was unharmed.
The Chatushrungi police arrested two of the accused, Rahul Bharat Kahndagle and Subhash W. Pelgunde, while two of their accomplices are still at large.
Reacting to the incident, Prof. Palshikar said that he was not in favour of punishing the youth and stressed for a “dialogue” and “debate” over the issue.
“These youngsters have been made scapegoats and actions should not be taken against them,” the professor said.
Instead, the ones who instigated this should be approached for a dialogue…this is not the way to protest,” he said.
Prof. Palshikar said that the ones involved in ransacking the premises were “unaware of the issue”. “They are not at fault as they had no idea what the issue was about,” he said. Incidentally, Republic Panthers of India chief Sachin Kharat stated that he had not seen the cartoon, but defended by saying that insult to Dr Ambedkar would not be tolerated.
As a precautionary measure, the police granted temporary protection to Prof. Palshikar. “We have granted him temporary protection. An offence has been registered against the accused and we are investigating whether there were witnesses in the case,” said Ajay R. Kadam, senior police inspector of Chatushrungi police station.