Meerut College professor banned from exam and evaluation work for 'objectionable' questions on RSS

MEERUT: An Uttar Pradesh government-run university has debarred the Political Science department head of an affiliate college from "all examination and evaluation work" for allegedly setting a question paper containing controversial questions about the RSS, officials said on Friday.

The order to impose a "lifetime ban" on Professor Seema Panwar of Meerut College came hours after a protest by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) -- the students' wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The controversy arose after a question in the second semester Political Science exam held on April 2 allegedly linked the RSS to the rise in religious and caste-based politics. The organisation's name was also included alongside Naxalites, the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front and other groups in a question.

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After an internal inquiry, Panwar was identified as the paper setter, Dhirendra Kumar Verma -- registrar of Chaudhary Charan Singh University -- told PTI. "She has been debarred from all examinations and evaluation work in the university for life."

Panwar has issued a written apology, claiming she did not intend to offend anyone. "She has apologised in writing that she did not do this intentionally to hurt anyone," Verma said. The inclusion of the RSS's name in such a context sparked outrage among ABVP members, who held protests on campus on Friday and submitted a memorandum to the registrar.