Professor has links with ABVP: Students

SHILLONG, April 29: The students of North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) on Tuesday alleged that Dr. Alok Kumar Singh, an Assistant Professor in the Hindi department, has links with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
“We have seen posts on the official Instagram account of the ABVP that confirm Dr. Singh’s association with the organisation. This connection is also reported in various media,” Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) NEHU unit general secretary Kevin Nelson Banrap told reporters.
According to him, this affiliation suggests Singh joined the university with a political agenda.
“We need to understand that his political motives do not align with safeguarding the interests of local indigenous students,” Banrap stated.
Also alleging that Singh holds animosity towards student leaders who are dedicated to advocating for the rights of local students, Banrap claimed Singh viewed such student leaders as obstacles to his undisclosed political objectives.
Earlier, the NEHU students stated that there has never been a precedent of such a massive deployment of security forces within the university campus.
Speaking to students during a gathering outside the Central Library, NEHUSU general secretary Toniho S Kharsati questioned the unusual security arrangement surrounding the Assistant Professor in the Hindi Department. “What makes him so special that 140 security personnel are needed to protect him?” he asked.
Kharsati wondered how the district administration deployed such a large number of security personnel without the consent of the acting Vice Chancellor and the university administration.
He further raised questions about the treatment meted out to NEHUSU president Sandy Sohtun and other union members.
“How did people in plain clothes enter the campus and make arrests? What’s more troubling is that the sports secretary who was picked up was released midway due to mistaken identity,” Kharsati said.
He emphasised that student safety is the union’s top priority, asserting that the right to study is meaningless without security. While acknowledging that NEHU is a central university, he declared that NEHUSU will not tolerate any form of oppression by the government.
The students dispersed after a signature campaign and a protest rally taken out from the Central Library to Gate No 2 of the university.
KSU blames VC for NEHU unrest
The KSU said the ongoing crisis at NEHU could be a deliberate move orchestrated by Vice Chancellor Prof Prabha Shankar Shukla to suppress student protests against him.
“Prof Shukla is doing everything he can to protect himself. But we must remember that the students wouldn’t have protested if the Vice Chancellor hadn’t committed any irregularities,” KSU president Lambokstarwell Marngar told reporters.
He claimed the arrest of the NEHUSU president was intended to intimidate and silence further dissent.
He pointed out that students have been staging protests for months, demanding Shukla’s removal. Referring to the arrest of the NEHUSU president and alleged harassment of other NEHUSU leaders, Marngar said these actions were apparently aimed at diverting attention from the main issue.
The KSU president criticised the district administration for deploying a large number of security personnel to the university campus.
“Why were the police and Central Armed Police Forces deployed for what is essentially an internal matter of the university?” he asked.
KSU general secretary Donald V Thabah sniffed a conspiracy in the arrest of the NEHUSU president and allegations levelled against the latter.
Thabah said Sohtun’s arrest was based on an FIR filed by Singh. He asked how the Assistant Professor will substantiate his charge that Sohtun, along with five others, assaulted him.
Thabah highlighted concerns about the growing influence of divisive religious politics within central institutions in the state, particularly NEHU. According to him, there have been allegations that Singh made derogatory remarks towards individuals based on their religious affiliations.
The KSU leader further alleged that Christian employees at NEHU have been subjected to inappropriate comments. He recalled an incident of last year where a Khasi student was assaulted by a non-tribal student during Holi celebrations at the university.
Thabah assured that the KSU will thoroughly investigate the matter by engaging with members of the NEHUSU.
Meanwhile, the FKJGP condemned the arrest of the NEHUSU president. FKJGP vice president Kitboklang Nongphlang in a statement criticised the state government for its alleged failure to intervene in the university’s internal crisis, suggesting that this has only worsened the situation.
“We suspect that the allegations against the NEHUSU president are an attempt to cover up the illegalities that were exposed under the tenure of Prof Shukla,” Nongphlang said.