Assistant Professor at the University of Kerala’s Department of International Relations and Politics was suspended after an online class taken by him on April 19 became the subject of national outrage. Dr Gilbert Sebastian, in an online class on ‘Fascism and Nazism’, called the RSS and the BJP “proto-fascist organisations”. Not only did the far-left leaning professor spew venom against the RSS and the BJP, but he was also caught actively promoting anti-Hindu sentiment during his class. Pending further enquiry, the assistant professor in urgent need of neurological treatment has been suspended.
The online class by Gilbert Sebastian invited furore from several quarters, especially the ABVP, which threatened mass protest if the Vice-Chancellor did not take action against the faculty member. The university had also got a complaint from A Vinod Karuvarakundu, a member of the National Monitoring Committee on Education (SCs, STs, Persons with Special Needs and Minority Education) under the Ministry of Human Resource Development in connection with Sabastian’s online class.
In the online class held on April 19, Dr Sebastain said, “The RSS and its affiliate organisation, together called as the Sangh Parivar meaning the Sangh family (including the BJP) in India can also be considered proto-fascist”. He claimed that as BJP is only the political front in India, someday, RSS will announce that there will be no elections in the country and will abolish the BJP. “They might do that. I am serious. They might do that,” the maniac said.
The man also spewed venom against the middle class and North Indian Hindus, who he believes voted for the BJP. Further, he compared the Nazi Hakenkreuz with the Hindu Swastika and asked his students whether the sign represented ‘Kali’ or ‘Shakti’, who he called a ‘Black Female Goddess’.
Following the complaints, the Vice-Chancellor had set up a three-member internal committee to investigate the allegations against the assistant professor. KP Suresh, Dean of Academics, MS John, professor in the Department of IR and Politics and Dr Muralidharan Nambiar, Controller of Examination, were the members of the internal committee.
Interestingly, CPM’s Students Federation of India (SFI) and the Congress’s National Students Union of India (NSUI) have come in open support of the man and are defending Sebastian by saying that any action against him would amount to infringing on the academic freedom of teachers and students.
Certainly, the venom spewed by Sebastian in no manner qualifies as ‘academic freedom’. His class was less academic in nature and rather aimed at indoctrinating students to the far-left fold. For misusing his position as a teacher to gullible students, the man deserves to be put behind bars.