In the most recent instance of Islamophobia in India, a professor from the coastal state of Karnataka who works at Bengaluru’s Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) is accused of calling a Muslim student a “terrorist” in a widely circulated online video.
The student, however, did not take the matter lightly and confronted him for being Islamophobic.
Ashok Swain, an Uppsala University professor and the UNESCO Chair on International Water Cooperation, shared the video, which went viral after receiving over a million views on Twitter alone. In less than 18 hours, the tweet has more than 45k likes and more than 17k retweets.
esultantly, the professor has been suspended while a probe has been ordered into the matter, as per Indian news outlet India Today.
“A Professor in a classroom in India calling a Muslim student ‘terrorist’ — This is what it has been to be a minority in India!,” Professor Swain tweeted, highlighting the plight of minorities in the country led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi — notorious for instigating the rise of right-wing politics in India.
In the above video, the student can be seen visibly disturbed when the lecturer calls him a terrorist in front of his classmates simply because he is Muslim.
“The student is heard questioning the lecturer, “How can you pass such statements?”
The professor tells him that he stated it in a “funny manner,” apparently surprised by the call out.
“The events of September 11, 2001, are not amusing, nor is it amusing to be Muslim in this country, “The professor apologizes and tells the student that he is equal to his son after the student responds to him.
The student asks him if he will also treat his son in the same manner.
“Will you treat your son like this? Will you label him as a terrorist, in front of everyone in the class? Sorry alone will not help, sir. It doesn’t change how you portray yourself here,” the Muslim boy said.
The student and professor held a conversation after the incident during which the latter also issued a personal apology, sources told an Indian news outlet Hindustan Times.
