A section of students of University of Hyderabad, as per a statement issued by ‘Students’ Federation of India HCU’ unit on Thursday , condemned the alleged statements made by a speaker at a session organised by the Department of Hindi.
Neerja Madhav, celebrated author from Uttar Pradesh, according to the SFI statement, singled out a queer student during the session and said, “homosexuality is unnatural and such communities are responsible for spread of diseases like AIDS.”
The alleged remarks were made on Tuesday when Ms. Madhav was a guest speaker for a session on Hindi literature and its various criticisms.
As seen in the brief video clips from the scene, Ms. Madhav was gheraoed while exiting the campus in her vehicle and the students demanded an apology from her. Amid sloganeering, the protesting students and the visiting author were also seen engaged in an argument.
On the same day, the School of Humanities and queer collective Sexual and Gender Alliance gave a call for flash protest. Later, the department also issued a clarification and maintained that Ms. Madhav was “solely responsible for the alleged statements she made,” and the department is in no way related to it. The department will also exercise caution to prevent a recurrence of such incidents, it stated.
Separately, the student organisation also noted that a similar incident where a few queer students were targeted and verbally attacked, had taken place in the same department last semester. Following the incident on Tuesday, it was said that the head of the department assured that it would conduct the mandated gender sensitisation classes in collaboration with student representatives from the Council and the Board soon.
While Ms. Madhav could not be reached for a comment, she endorsed reports of the incident as published by Hindi daily Amar Ujala on her Facebook page on Thursday.
Apart from reference to the gherao, the news report mentions that the controversy erupted after the question-and-answer session, in which a few students asked about homosexuality and its references in Manusmriti and thus the basis for its legal recognition.
“Homosexuality can be a mental need or a personal choice, but it is not the same as the issue of the third gender. Those belonging to the third gender live cursed lives due to a cruel twist of nature,” it reported Ms. Madhav as saying. She had also asked how many in the auditorium read the original Manusmriti, and the importance to study fully – to criticise it.
“Why should I apologise when I haven’t said anything wrong? It’s impossible for me to apologise. Everything I said is the truth. You may disagree,” the report added, quoting her .
Ms. Madhav was a recipient of Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2021. Her works include Yamdeep, on the daily lives of transgenders and their social rejection, Geshe Jampa – a warrior of Tibet, and Diary of 5-avarna female constable, among others.
