Kozhikode: In Kerala's National Institute of Technology (NIT) Calicut, the student organization SFI erected a banner stating that Nathuram Godse was India's first terrorist.
This follows the rampant dissent and flak that emerged after a faculty of the institution, Shaija Andavan, posted a controversial comment beneath a right-winger's post hailing Gandhi murderer Godse.
On January 30, Martyrs' and Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, Shaija wrote a comment on a post by a lawyer, Krishna Raj, mocking the father of the nation. Shaija commented that she was proud that Godse "saved the nation". Following severe flak, the faculty removed her comment. Kozhikode, however, registered a case against her based on a complaint filed by SFI. Meanwhile, the NIT director informed that the Registrar of the institution has sought to seek clarification regarding the issue from the faculty, Shaija.
Following severe criticism and her deleting the comment, Shaija told Mathrubhumi that her job is to teach and not to "play politics". She does not have any political allegiance, she said.
She claimed that she read an article on "Why Nathuram Killed Gandhi" and posted the comment on the basis of that. She is saddened by the developments that followed her comment, she told the Mathrubhumi.
DYFI, the youth wing of the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala, held a protest before Shaija's house and erected a flex board that suggested that India belonged to Gandhiji and not Godse.
Lawyer Krishna Raj's post claimed that the 'Hindu Mahasabha activist Nathuram Vinayak Godse is the hero of many people in India.
Earlier, the suspension of a Dalit student for one year by the NIT authorities for reacting against those who organized excessive celebrations on the campus on the day of Ram Temple consecration in Ayodhya was controversial and criticized.