‘Smash Brahminism’, ‘Pick up AKs’ – How teachers on online education apps like Unacademy are provoking students

Unacademy, an online educational platform which is widely used by students to clear out concepts which they generally fail to understand during their classes at school, now finds itself in the centre of a massive political storm, as one of its educators, Varun Awasthi has threatened PM Modi with the entire country turning into Kashmir, and the youth quitting their ‘pens’ to hold ‘AK47s’. Awasthi had originally posted a video clip of his on Facebook under #SpeakUpForSSCRailwayStudents. It must be mentioned that SSC Railway candidates are protesting for quite some time now over the delay in declaration of their results.

According to a clip posted by Twitter user @AngrySaffron, Varun Awasthi, who is seen flaunting an official Unacademy t-shirt is heard saying, “Jis tarah Mahatma Gandhi keh ke gaye the Hindustan ki aatma gaon mein basti hai, jab tak gaon ka vikas nahi karoge Hindustan ka vikas nahi hone wala. Waise hi Modi ji itna jaan lo agar desh ko nahi jhukne dena hai na, to is yuva ko apne saath leke chalna hai. Nahi to woh din door nahi ke jis wajah se aapne Jammu Kashmir ko block kiya hai na udhar se, yahan par har yuva kalam chod ke AK-47 pakad lega. (Mahatma Gandhi used to say that India’s soul lives in its villages and that till the time we do not ensure the rural areas’ progress; we cannot develop as a nation. Similarly, if you do not want the nation to bend its knees, Modi Ji, ensure you walk in sync and solidarity with the young generation and youth. Otherwise, just like Jammu and Kashmir, the youngsters of India will quit their pens and pick up AK-47s.)

Facing tremendous backlash on social media, Unacademy was forced to issue statements on Twitter, which read, “Unacademy does not endorse any content or communication from Educators that instigates hateful or unlawful behaviour. We expressly prohibit such activities and encourage Educators to stay lawful in all situations. We’re investigating this matter and will take appropriate action.”

As the clips went viral on social media, the rot among many online educators and teachers came to the fore, with many of them showing a clear bias which could be detrimental for students in the long run. One “Bhutesh Sir”, who runs a channel on YouTube called “e1 coaching centre” can be heard saying in one of his videos, in the context of Ram Mandir, “Tumhein mandir bana ke de diya aur tumhein zindagi mein kya chahiye. Ayodhya mein mandir ban gaya, uska pujan ho gaya aur is se bada mudda kya hai?”(You got the Ram Mandir. What else do you want in your life? The Temple is being constructed in Ayodhya, Bhoomi Pujan has been completed. It was the biggest issue.) His vile rant does not stop just yet, as he goes to speak on how those in power (read: BJP, PM Modi) are not providing jobs to the youth, as they will not spread hatred between Hindus and Muslim if they get employed. In a sarcastic reference to those who are currently in power, he adds that there will be none remaining to instigate riots in the name of caste and religion, not to mention the scarcity of fake news spreaders which will arise as a result.

Another clip posted by Twitter user @AngrySaffron goes on to show the lies peddled by another alleged Unacademy educator, who is seen spreading absolute falsities about Brahmins, saying that they have portrayed themselves as mediators between God and humans. (tfipost could not independently verify the authenticity of the said video, or the person in question being an Unacademy educator.)

How can explicitly biased teachers, who do not shy away from issuing violent threats and who might have been dolling out propaganda for quite some time now, be allowed to ‘teach’ culpable students, who will be impressioned at the drop of a hat? Online teaching platforms must take strict action against all such teachers who are targeting susceptible minds to further their own bias over an entire generation.