After ABVP protests, Ramachandra Guha says he won’t teach at Ahmedabad University

Guha, who was set to join the AU faculty as chair professor, made his decision after the ABVP claimed his invitation would lead to a “JNU-kind anti-national sentiment.”

news Controversy

Renowned historian and biographer Ramachandra Guha, who announced last month that he will be joining Ahmedabad University, tweeted on Thursday that he will not be joining the University as a professor due to “circumstances beyond my control.”

Guha’s decision comes after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS, staged protests against his appointment and demanded that the University rescind the offer, according to the Indian Express.

“Due to circumstances beyond my control, I shall not be joining Ahmedabad University. I wish AU well; it has fine faculty and an outstanding Vice-Chancellor. And may the spirit of Gandhi one day come alive once more in his native Gujarat,” Guha tweeted on Thursday.

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I shall not be joining Ahmedabad University. I wish AU well; it has fine faculty and an outstanding Vice Chancellor. And may the spirit of Gandhi one day come alive once more in his native Gujarat. — Ramachandra Guha (@Ram_Guha) November 1, 2018

On October 16, it was reported that Guha will join as the Shrenik Lalbhai Chair Professor of Humanities and Director of the Gandhi Winter School at the Ahmedabad University's School of Arts and Sciences. He was to join the institute on January 1, 2019.

“I am absolutely delighted to be joining the faculty of Ahmedabad University. I am impressed by the University's interdisciplinary approach, its mix of sagacious older and superb younger faculty, and its visionary leadership... I have known and loved Ahmedabad ever since my first visit there 40 years ago; to now return, to teach and work in the city where Mahatma Gandhi made his home and nurtured the freedom movement, excites me beyond measure,” Guha had then said.

However, three days after the University made the announcement, the ABVP submitted a memorandum to the registrar of the University claiming that Guha was a “communist” and if he is invited to Gujarat, it would cause a “JNU-kind anti-national sentiment,” the Indian Express report added.

Ahmedabad University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programmes in areas including engineering, business management, science and the humanities. The university was set up in 2009 by the 83-year-old Ahmedabad Education Society.