Mumbai varsity student bodies reject naming of hostel after Veer Savarkar

Mumbai: Maharashtra Governor B S Koshyari's suggestion to name the Mumbai university's new hostel after Veer Savarkar have been vehemently opposed by at least two student organisations.

Student organizations Chhatra Bharati Vidyarthi Sanghatna and the All India Students' Federation have demanded that the hostel for international students be named after Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, who in the 19th century promoted education for students from different castes.

Last week, Koshiari had asked the Mumbai University vice-chancellor to name the newly constructed hostel for international students at the Kalina campus after Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

"It is the birth centenary year of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj who pioneered the concept of opening hostels for students of all the castes. He even sponsored their education using his funds. He died in Mumbai. I think it is the right time to give his name to the new hostel,'' Rohit Dhale, working president of Chhatra Bharati Vidyarthi Sanghatna, stated in a letter. He said that to oppose the governor's suggestion, they have been seeking the support of various unions of students at MU.

''A letter seeking support for our demand her been sent to the National Students' Union of India, the Students' Federation of India and the Progressive Students' Union and for holding a meeting outside the new hostel built at the Kalina campus of the varsity,'' he stated.

Aamir Kazi, the Mumbai unit secretary of the All India Students' Federation, alleged that the intention behind giving Savarkar's name to the new hostel is to ''propagate the agenda of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh''. He said naming the hostel after Shahu Maharaj is the ''apt choice''.

Maharashtra Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant also supported the demand of students. "The student's demand is rational and appropriate. Mumbai University should accept it. Shahu Maharaj is one of the founding pillars of progressive ideology based on equality who strive for educating students of all castes and creeds," he tweeted.

Koshyari said that Mumbai University was established in 1857 when India waged its first freedom struggle against the colonial rulers and that it was Savarkar who called the movement against the British the "first war of Independence".

"Naming the international students' hostel after Savarkar will enhance respect for India in the hearts and minds of students," he said.

With PTI inputs