Karan Kataria controversy: Britishers left India way back in 1947. Indians did fight to gain independence; thousands lost their lives, from Shivaji Maharaj to Rani Lakshmi Bai to Sardar Bhagat Singh to Chandra Shekar Azad. They had all fought for Swaraj, which means self-rule. But did we achieve Swaraj post-independence?
You would be furious if I said no, we failed to create a nation as dreamed by our brave freedom fighters. Why do I say this? It’s simple because, as Goras left, the threads of India fell into the hands of Bhura Babus. Now, the country was not being run by White-Imperialists but by Indians who wore suit-ties, spoke British English and probably ate with a fork and knife.
Is there a problem in appreciating other cultures or accepting them? No, definitely not. The problem arrives when our own traditional beliefs, practises, and cultures are belittled by our own. Who suffered the most? The traditional Indians, the Hindus. Slowly, it became a practise. Else, what justification do you have for India being referred to as a country of snake-charmers? This is called ideological subversion.
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The same ideology that told us that we are snake-charmers and it’s good to eat with a knife and fork also told us that it’s better to read at a foreign university. Everyone who studies at a foreign university is more talented than the one passing out from any university on Indian soil. But what happens when one goes to study out? What fate does he or she meet?
Why am I saying all this? and what is Karan Kataria controversy? Recalling the wrong-doings of the past would serve no purpose in today’s fast-moving world. I agree, but I can’t help watching how a Hindu is being hounded at a foreign university, said to be the best, the London School of Economics. But why? Simple, for being a Hindu and following what we call Indian traditions.
Karan Kataria controversy- The boy in news
Karan Kataria—you must have heard his name somewhere on the channels or might have read about him and controversy in the newspaper. Well, the 22-year-old boy is making headlines, alleging that he has been wronged. Before jumping onto the issue, first understand, who is Karan Kataria?
Karan Kataria is a student at the London School of Economics and is currently pursuing his Masters in Law. He hails from a middle-class farming family in Haryana and describes himself as the first-generation university-level graduate in his family. He is a student academic representative and a delegate to the UK’s National Union for Students (NSU).
Let’s arrive at the next question now: why is he making headlines? and what is Karan Kataria controversy? Because he decided to run for the post of general secretary at the London School of Economics Students Union (LSESU).
Debarred for his identity
Kataria has been debarred from running for the Students Union election at the London School of Economics following a smear campaign, alleges Kataria. He alleges that on March 24, WhatsApp groups were flooded with messages labelling him Islamophobic and homophobic.
Kataria says, ” Even after being a man of colour, I was tagged as a racist… even a Hindu nationalist. Just because I am proud of my culture, heritage, ethos, and philosophy and where it comes from, you can’t call a student a Hindu nationalist.”
He has alleged that unnamed individuals ran a smear campaign against his ambition to become LSU’s next general secretary. Upon whom he says that some could not see an Indian-Hindu leading the General Secretary of the LSE Students’ Union (LSESU). “resorted to vilifying my character and very identity in what was clearly in line with the alarming cancel culture which is uprooting our social communities.”
Kataria has also slammed the LSESU, stating that instead of punishing those responsible for the alleged smear campaign against him, the student body cancelled his candidature “without providing any proof or evidence of the allegations against me.”
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The Rahul Gandhi connection to the case
As per FirstPost, there happens to be a Rahul Gandhi connection with what has transpired at the London School of Economics. Yes, that can be guessed from the title itself: a devout Hindu is being targeted and abused on the directions of a Bengali Atheist Professor. But who is the professor and from where Rahul Gandhi has a link into the matter. Let me explain.
Reports suggest that the campaign launched against Kataria that led to him being debarred from the election was orchestrated by Professor Mukulika Banerjee, associated with the Anthropology department of the London School of Economics and Political Science, and who happens to be the inaugural director of the LSE’s South Asia Centre.
She is believed to be the voice behind ‘Muslims under threat in India’ rhetoric in the Western press and is supposed to be very influential in the academic and policy circles in London. Banerjee had joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra and allegedly hosted Rahul Gandhi in London.
Following which, she wrote a piece for The Guardian on the same. Another article published in the Sunday Times, titled, ‘Modi parades his hatred of Muslims and makes a mockery of India’s constitution’ clearly suggests the hatred she harbours against Hindus and Indians.
FirstPost has released WhatsApp chats suggesting that Banerjee sent personalised messages to her students, asking them to cancel Karan Kataria and reject his candidature. A message was circulated that read,‼️ ATTN LSE STUDENTS – KEEP FASCIST ORGANISATIONS OUT OF SU ‼️
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Not the first in history
This is not the first such case of someone being bullied, in a way, for his or her identity at a foreign university. Remember the case of Rashmi Samant? Rashmi Samant had faced similar attacks at Oxford University two years ago. Samant was elected as the first female Indian president at the Oxford student union.
But, she could not continue on her post as she was constantly hounded by the left-liberal cabal at the university and was forced to resign. She was abused, bullied, and targeted for being a Hindu and for her views against British colonisation. She was also accused of being racist, Islamophobic, and transphobic. One of the faculty members had even dragged her parents into the issue, attacking them for having Bhagwan Ram’s picture as their display picture on social media.
What does Rashmi have to say about Karan? She says that when she was bullied, she prayed that it should never happen to any other Hindu on a campus, adding that the story of Karan is “absolutely heartbreaking”.
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Her tweet is worth reading, she says, “It brings back the simmering issue of deep-rooted Hinduphobia, not just in the UK but on campuses and in academia across the world, which, under the guise of liberty, curtails the rights of historically persecuted communities like the Hindus. It is not Karan’s fault that he aspires to be a leader. He has every right to be one. Being Hindu does not make him less worthy of taking charge and creating change on any platform of his choice. LSE, we demand transparency!”
We end of the Karan Kataria controversy on that note and hope that no other Hindu, or, say, Indian, has to face the same bully that Rashmi and Karan had to face. But, just hoping won’t help. Go back and check if you are also a victim of ideological subversion. Check, if you also belittle your culture and prefer to go the West’s way? If you do, this is a red flag, stop ASAP.
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