Tamil Nadu state president of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) Aravind Samy has alleged that he was forcefully prevented from receiving his degree from Governor RN Ravi during the convocation ceremony at the Tamil University in Thanjavur on Monday, April 24. He also alleged that police personnel confined him in a room for hours, and even forced to strip, in the name of protocol. The Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) have alleged that this was done because of Aravind’s political affiliation, as the two Left parties had organised a protest against the Governor over his recent remarks criticising Karl Marx. At a book launch event in February, Governor Ravi had claimed that Karl Marx, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Abraham Lincoln were “worshipped” at the cost of Indian scholars such as Deendayal Upadhyaya.
Aravind was at the convocation ceremony to collect his MPhil degree that he had completed in 2021. Apart from Governor Ravi, state Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi and Tamil University Vice Chancellor V Thiruvalluvan were also present at the ceremony. Aravind told TNM that even before the ceremony began, he was dragged out of the hall by police personnel from the Director General of Police’s (DGP) squad. “They took me to a room which had the power generator, and asked me to strip completely. It was humiliating, but they said that it was regular protocol. But even after checking me thoroughly, they locked me in that room until the event ended and the special guests had left,” he said. He added that he had even requested the police personnel to let him watch the ceremony from afar, but they allegedly denied his request.
The SFI has slammed the action against Aravind, calling it an instance of severe human rights violation.
Committee of the Students’ Federation of India strongly condemn the TN Police for violating human rights in the name of investigation. Govt should take severe action against the police who undergone in this inhuman activity.
— SFI Tamilnadu (@TamilnaduSfi) April 25, 2023
V P Sanu (President)
Mayukh Biswas(General Secretary)
Aravind said that after all the guests had left, he was handed over to the local police. However, they didn’t take him to a police station or arrest him, he said. “They had no reason to arrest me, so they simply made me sit in their car and drove around Thanjavur for an hour. Then, they dropped me back at the university,” he said.
When TNM contacted Thanjavur district Superintendent of Police Ashish Rawat, he only mentioned that Aravind was not arrested by the police, refusing to further comment on the issue.
Aravind said he had to collect his degree certificate from the university’s Exam Controller, after the Thanjavur police dropped him back at Tamil University. During Monday’s ceremony, degree certificates were presented to students who have graduated from the university since 2020.