Medinipur, 24 July (H.S.) The controversy surrounding a history question paper at Vidyasagar University in West Bengal does not seem to die down. On Thursday, the university campus witnessed heightened tension as members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad staged a protest demanding the resignation of the Vice-Chancellor.

ABVP activists alleged that the university administration deliberately avoided accepting their memorandum. They claimed that Vice-Chancellor Prof. Deepak Kumar Kar exited the campus through an alternate route upon seeing the protesters. In response, the student group intensified its protest and declared that their agitation would continue until the VC resigns.

The issue erupted on July 9 during a History Honours examination, when a question referred to Indian freedom fighters as terrorists. What further aggravated the situation was the absence of quotation marks around the word “terrorist,” implying that the label was not attributed to external perspectives but stated as a fact.

The question caused widespread outrage among students and faculty members. As protests continued for three days, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Kar held a press conference, issuing an unconditional apology and terming the incident an “unintentional mistake.”

The university removed Dr. Nirmal Mahato from his position as Head of the History Department and Chairperson of the Undergraduate Board of Studies. Prof. Prosenjit Ghosh, one of the moderators of the question paper, was also removed from the moderation team.

Despite these actions, protests continued. ABVP and other student groups have refused to accept the administration’s explanation, alleging that the use of the term “terrorist” was a deliberate insult to India's revolutionary heroes and not an accidental oversight.

On July 11, the university’s Executive Council met for the first time in nearly two years. During the meeting, Chandni Tudu, Senior Special Secretary from the State Higher Education Department, raised the exam paper issue. The VC presented a detailed explanation of the incident and the corrective measures taken. He also advised all departments to exercise greater caution in the future.

However, ABVP remains firm on its demand for the VC’s resignation. The organization stated that protests would continue in one form or another until Prof. Kar steps down.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey