Can beef eating be a ground for denying admission into a universityIJ If so, under what ruleIJ
This is the question a student from Kerala has asked to the Vice Chancellor of Hyderabad based English and Foreign languages University (EFlU).
Jalees Kodur, who has completed MA in Arabic last year had cleared the entrance for PhD but his name did not appear in the two lists of the students who got admission in the course.
When he contacted in person the Proctor of the University Prof Prakash Konur informed him that he was not granted admission because he had participated in a Beef Festival in the university last year.
Jalees has denied that he had participated in the Beef Festival organised by some Dalit organisation. “I was among the people who had gathered to watch the proceedings. I was neither among the organisers nor one of those who partook in the festival”, he said.
He said that he was not aware of any criminal case registered against him and demanded the authorities to grant him the admission as beef eating can not be a ground to deny admission.
He has written a letter to the Vice Chancellor seeking a written reply stating that he was being denied admission on the ground of eating the beef.
The incident has left the other students of the university shocked. The university had last year witnessed a high drama over the Beef Festival organised by some Dalit and left students organisations and the police had used force to confiscate the food cooked for the occasion and also made a lathi charge to disperse the participants.
Authorities say 25 students from EFlU along with the students of Osmania University had taken part in the beef festival held in December last.
Proctor Prakash Konur defended the action against Jalees saying a criminal case was pending against him at the University Police station. “The High Court had confirmed the prohibitory orders issued by the lower court against conducting the beef festival”, he said.
Jalees Kodur on the other hand said that he was not aware of any such case. “They say case was booked several months ago but not even once I was informed about it by the police or the university. Also they did not show any proof of the same when I went to the university to take my hall ticket”, he said.