We want LI to be one of the friendliest places on the internet, where lawyers and law students help each other with their career related queries and occasionally discuss other stuff that might affect their lives too. In other words:
1. Be kind, respectful and helpful to each other.
2. Be bona fide, truthful, genuine and curious.
3. Assume the best intention of others.
Therefore, in using the site, you must agree to do your best to uphold these community guidelines.
Note that what you find here is written and moderated by anonymous people on the internet.
Therefore everything you read here is very likely unverified, rumour, speculation and/or downright false.
In continuing to read anything here, you must therefore agree not to take anything you read here as factual and that you will exercise due caution, diligence and common sense before acting on any information you may come across here.
You also agree to report any inaccurate or malicious comments with the buttons. Moderators take action within 24 hours, as required and appropriate under law.
Our full terms and conditions apply too.
Do you solemnly agree to all of the above?
https://twitter.com/karanatLSE/status/1642533657293254657
https://www.lsesu.com/elections/manifesto/17675/
https://in.linkedin.com/in/karan-kataria1310
This comes a day after Georgia resolution condemning Hinduphobia, but there should be a genuine grievance of Hinduphobia by the LSE student and not something else!
https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/georgia-first-american-state-pass-resolution-condemning-hinduphobia-2354235-2023-04-01
Basically, there is an Indian publisher called Indus Scrolls Press, which is known for publishing books by pro-BJP authors. Karan Kataria published a book with this company, called "Recapturing the Vision called Bharat". While the term "Bharat" is used in the Constitution, BJP supporters nostalgically associate the term with pre-Islamic India. .J Sai Deepak also used the term in the title of his book.
If Kataria was cancelled merely for using the term "Bharat" and associating with ISP, that is deplorable. If he was cancelled for the content of his book, we need to see what he said exactly.
But even then, a university is meant to tolerate differing viewpoints and he cannot be cancelled even if he openly supported the BJP in his book. If that is the standard, then Chinese/Turkish/Pakistani students in the UK who support their rulers must also be canceled.
Interestingly, Kataria is not a product of NLU or Jindal, and instead did his LLB from an obscure college (North Cap University). So he probably won't generate too much sympathy in India.
This book, written by Karan, is the reason he has got into trouble: https://www.amazon.in/Recapturing-Vision-Called-Bharat-Kataria/dp/B0B9YQH1SP
There is one foreword written by J Nandkumar (National Convenor of Prajna Pravah, an RSS-affiliated organization) and another foreword by Justice Pritam Pal Singh, former Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and former Lokayukta of Haryana. Justice Singh is a follower of the Arya Samaj. These two connections --- RSS and Arya Samaj--- are proving to be controversial, but more so what is said by Nandkumar and Justice Singh. Amazon has a preview of the first few pages and you can read it.
Nandkumar writes: "Anything Hindu is being ridiculed as communal, obscurantist, retrograde, and what not. The propaganda in the academic circles is consistently been done by Leftist intellectuals." He also cites certain figures revered by Hindu nationalists, such as Ramakrishna, Aurobindo and Vivekananda from Bengal, plus Tilak and Hegdewar from Maharashtra. While Vivekananda and Tilak are a bit controversial, Hegdewar is VERY controversial as he co-founded the RSS.
As for Justice Singh, he refers to those who destroyed Nalanda as "foreign barbaric invaders".
Thus, both Nandkumar and Singh are employing tropes seen as Hindu nationalist and Islamophobic. Finally, Karan himself says (in page xiii) that "Marxist historians tried to instil in us a sense of derision and contempt for our past". He also quotes Golwalkar in the book (page 9) who is another controversial RSS figure. Karan calls him "Guruji". Golwalkar wrote a book called Bunch of Thoughts, which is super-controversial and considered to be the foundational text of the RSS.
Thus, Karan is being accused of supporting the BJP and Hindu nationalism through this book. This charge is hard to deny because of the book. Kataria is generally a backward community surname and he is also quoting Ambedkar on Twitter, but that is not being seen as a valid defence.
My own view is that Karan's book is not good scholarship at all. J Sai Deepak at least tries to cite authoritative sources. You won't see that here.
The Rahul Gandhi link in LSE anti-India Hinduphobia case
========================================================
https://www.firstpost.com/world/exclusive-the-rahul-gandhi-link-in-lse-anti-india-hinduphobia-case-12406642.html
Also, FYI according to Tejashwini's LinkedIn, she worked with AAP. So what now: AAP supporters are also Sanghi???
To NLU students on LI who are leftist: I am requesting you, please do not support cancel culture and please condemn what happened at LSE. Karan may be non-NLU but he is a victim of injustice.
https://in.linkedin.com/in/tejashwini-shankar-80a443214
https://twitter.com/tejashwini_v__/status/1642909268109148161
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/indian-student-accuses-lse-student-union-of-xenophobia-after-being-disqualified-from-elections/articleshow/99223207.cms
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/diaspora/indian-student-alleges-his-hindu-identity-targeted-at-london-school-of-economics-494083
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/antiindia-hinduphobia-student-alleges-discrimination-at-lse-101680571340554.html
https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/uk-news/lse-student-claims-he-faced-discrimination-due-to-anti-india-rhetoric-and-hinduphobia-articleshow.html
https://www.news18.com/world/indian-student-at-london-school-of-economics-claims-racism-in-student-union-election-7460413.html
https://www.news9live.com/world/indian-student-disqualified-from-student-union-election-at-london-school-of-economics-alleges-racial-bias-au2305-2093203
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbPaGwQw6ek
"When I started my postgraduate studies at LSE, I sincerely hoped to strive for and further fulfil my passion for student welfare. But my dreams were shattered when a deliberately orchestrated smear campaign was launched against me solely because of my Indian and Hindu identity," he said.
https://www.ndtv.com/indians-abroad/indian-student-alleges-anti-india-smear-campaign-at-london-school-of-economics-3918813
LW: fine students who write pro-Modi graffiti on hostel walls
RW: fine students who write anti-Modi graffiti on walls
LW: have more third gender toilets on campus
RW: there are only two genders
and other such BS.
1. Haryana CM ML Khattar has complained to LSE. LSE has responded by saying LSE and LSESU are different, but an inquiry is underway.
https://twitter.com/mlkhattar/status/1643948665281843201
2. Amit Malviya has now accused Mukulika Banerjee of orchestrating it and also pointed out that she is the sister of Madhulika Banerjee, wife of Yogendra Yadav.
https://twitter.com/amitmalviya/status/1644009193278693377
But there are key allegations for which evidence is missing:
1.Where is the evidence that Mukulika had sent those WhatsApp messages which are floating around? Nowhere can I see her name in those messages.
2. Firstpost has also mentioned a recording of a phone call where Mukulika is implicated. Where is the audio?
3. Why has not a single LLM student come out in support of Karan Kataria?
While the VC of JNU signing such a letter is big news, this is the first time I am seeing academics from NLUs join such a campaign. The fact that a prof of NLUD is signing it is important, as many NLUD/other NLU students apply to LSE every year (as also KCL and UCL).
But is it likely to have an impact on the ground though? LSE is currently in the top 10 of QS for law, while KCL and UCL are in the top 15. You also have Queen Mary at 32, plus SOAS is also respected. Why will students not apply here?
"We are writing to express our unwavering support for Karan Kataria, a Master of Law student at 'the London schoo of economics and Political Science aSk who has been the victim of a vile smear campaign and discrimination..... If justice is not served, we will not hesitate to appeal to Indian students and parents to reconsider LSE as a higher education destination."
https://twitter.com/ARanganathan72/status/1655245918755758081/photo/1
https://twitter.com/ARanganathan72/status/1655245918755758081/photo/2