PATNA: JNUSU president

's PhD supervisor Professor

, currently working as the director of Area Studies Programme on African Studies

, has been getting numerous hate messages like "red underwear wala" and hate mails asking him to quit as his (read Kanahaiya) PhD supervisorship.

"But I am not disturbed over such hate mails and abusive messages. I feel proud of my brilliant student who has put my head high. Kanhaiya has become the victim of the greater conspiracy of RSS and BJP," says Malakar, who himself comes from a landless family of Bihar's Khagaria district. Malakar belongs to 'panchpania' caste (mali).

Recounting his association with Kanhaiya, he says, "I came to know him for the last six years after a meeting organised by All India Progressive Forum in New Delhi. The meeting was in form of discussion on caste and class relation. In that debate, he appeared so matured with Marxist analysis that I could imagine his insight and immediately recognised his potentialities."

"Whenever I used to organise talks on various national and international issues, as the deputy director of Joshi Adhikari Institute of Social Studies, he never missed a single chance to attend it. He had applied in three centres for admission in JNU - African Studies, Central Asian Studies of School of International Studies and Social System of School of Social Science," he told TOI over phone from JNU.

The African Studies was his first priority. He got interview calls from all the centres but he was selected for admission in African Studies only as it was his first preference and joined in 2011.

"He completed his MPhil in 2013 on Senegal and is currently pursuing PhD in Post Apartheid South Africa. After being closer in the process of academic interaction I could know him better as a brilliant student whenever we discussed some of the writings of the African literary personalities like Wole Soyenka, Ngugi-Wa-Thango and Chine Wa Achebe," Malakar recalls.

It is unexplained that how much agony pain and anguish, a teacher of a brilliant student like Kanahiya can feel after his being implicated in a sedition charge and sent to prison, he said and added, "When he moved further to know more about his personal background, he found many class similarities in their upbringings."

"Like me he also belongs to a poor peasantry family. I have also visited his native village Bihat. Bihat was known to me earlier because of many reasons. Malakar knew Bihat as his late father Rambhaj Malakar, a leader of the Khet Mazdoor Union (village Temptha), in Parbatta in Khagaria, had been the frequent visitor of Bihat village. In early days Malakar used to do the job of gardener. Kanhaiya was a member of Joint Action Committee (JAC) for Rohit Vimula case. Recently, he had organised a crowded meeting on behalf of JAC before JNU's Sabarmati hostel.

"I know his patriotic credentials. His ideology is people centric. He really loves his country and people. I feel proud of my student as he has put my head high. It is a pre-planned endeavour of the central government to close sine die the university to impose new rule and regulation along with change in curriculum," Professor Malakar strongly feels.