BHU: Urdu HoD apologizes after Iqbal’s photo in poster triggers row; Committee formed to probe

NEW DELHI: After a group of students raised their objection against a poster that carried the photograph of Urdu poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the head of department of Urdu of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) apologized and removed the e-poster from social media.

Following this, the BHU said, “A notice has been issued to the Head of the Department, Urdu Department, to clarify the facts regarding the controversy arising over the e-poster of a webinar organized by the Urdu Department on the occasion of Urdu Day.”

An inquiry committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of KM Pandey, HoD of the English department of BHU to check the facts in this regard. The committee has also been asked to submit the report in three days.

उर्दू दिवस के अवसर पर उर्दू विभाग द्वारा आयोजित एक वेबिनार के ई-पोस्टर को लेकर उत्पन्न हुए विवाद के संबंध में तथ्यों को स्पष्ट करने के लिए विभागाध्यक्ष, उर्दू विभाग, को नोटिस जारी किया गया है।
(1/1)@VCofficeBHU @registrarbhu @ArtsBhu

— BHU Official (@bhupro) November 9, 2021

Bimlendra Kumar, HoD, Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies, Committee Member and Assistant Registrar, Faculty of Arts, will be the Member Secretary, it said.

On November 8, the BHU Dean of Arts faculty in a tweet said, “Urdu Department, Faculty of Arts, #BHU, is organizing a webinar as per the details given in the poster. Sincerest apologies for the inadvertent mistake in the earlier poster that went viral on social media.”

Urdu Department, Faculty of Arts, #BHU, is organizing a webinar as per the details given in the poster. Sincerest apologies for the inadvertent mistake in the earlier poster that went viral on social media.@bhupro @VCofficeBHU pic.twitter.com/loGvXe99IU

— Dean_Arts_BHU (@ArtsBhu) November 8, 2021

The students had also pointed out that the poster did not have a picture of BHU founder Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. Subsequently, the photo of Iqbal was removed and replaced with Malaviya in the revised poster that was tweeted on Monday.

HoD of Urdu department Aftab Ahmad told The Indian Express, “We teach Allama Iqbal as a poet and writer, who wrote ‘Saare Jahaan se achha Hindustan hamara’. His writing is taught in Hindi in universities…. One does not become British if one reads William Shakespeare…. Iqbal had called Lord Ram ‘Imam-e-Hind’.”