A professor at National Institute of Technology (NIT) Calicut, named A Shaija will be the new dean of the institute. Her appointment is the talk of the town lately, rather sparking a row in the campus as the professor had praised Nathuram Godse on Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary in 2024. Congress has even declared that it would launch an agitation at the institute demanding for withdrawal of the appointment decision.
Dr. A Shaija currently serves as the professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at NIT Calicut. If the decision comes to effect, Shaija will serve as the Dean (Planning and Development) at the institute starting this April.
On Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary last year, Shaija had posted on Fecebook, “Proud of Godse for saving India.” Shaija was commenting on another post by an advocate that read, “Hindu Mahasabha activist, Nathuram Godse, a hero for many in Bharat.”
Following the criticism and backlash, Shaija had deleted the comment later, but the screenshots of it were widely circulated on social media. Complaints were filed against the professor soon after. The Kozhikode city police took action against her, registering a case under IPC section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot). Congress and other left organizations in Kerala had demanded that Shaija should be sacked from the institute.
During that time, Shaija had issued clarification on her comment, saying, “My comment was not to appreciate the killing of Gandhiji. I never wanted to do so. I had read Godse’s book ‘Why I killed Gandhi’. Godse was also a freedom fighter. There is a lot of information and revelations in his book, which the common man does not know. Godse has enlightened us in his book. Against this backdrop, I had commented on the advocate’s facebook post. When I realized that people have started distorting my comment, I deleted it.”
The district committee President of Kozhikode said that the appointment of A Shaija as the dean of NIT should be revoked. He said, “It shows that the RSS agenda is being implemented at the institutes under the Central Government. A professor who insulted Gandhiji is given a promotion. We will launch an agitation until her appointment is withdrawn.”