New Delhi: An FIR was registered on Monday against an assistant professor in Goa, for ‘outraging religious feelings with deliberate and malicious intention’. The professor had apparently compared the women in Mangalsutra to a “chained dog” on a 6 month old Facebook post.
According to the Indian Express, the case was filed based on a complaint filed by Rashtriya Hindu Yuva Vahini’s Goa unit member Rajiv Jha, against Shilpa Singh who teaches political science at Panaji’s VM Salgaocar College of Law. Singh also had a complaint filed by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) previously, which objected to the topics that she teaches to her students.
Singh has also filed a complaint against Jha, based on which an FIR was registered against him. Singh accuses Jha of criminally intimidating her and outraging her modesty thru’ his “abusive” Facebook posts.
According to Deccan Herald, the FIR against Singh says, “The above noted accused person having a Facebook profile in the name of Shilpa Surendra Pratap Singh knowingly uploaded a post through the Facebook account in the public domain with deliberate and malicious intention outraged religious feelings of the complainant, thereby insulted religious belief, thus committed offence under section 295 A IPC.”
Before the FIR was filed, Singh had expressed regret over her remarks:
“At the outset, I wish to express my regret to my fellow women if any of my facebook posts have caused them hurt and offended them. I am aware that one of my facebook posts was in the eye of the storm due to my personal views on mangalsutra and burqa and it was taken totally out of context. It was never my intention to ridicule religion or women.
Since my childhood, I have been curious on questions why we have exclusive marital status symbols for women and not for the men in various cultures practices. It is depressing to see that a false opinion has been created about myself by my detractors – that I am an ‘anti-religion’ or a run-of-the-mill ‘god-hating atheist’. This is far from the truth.
My questioning of cultural practices is in the spirit of “rational enquiry and progressive thinking. I have strived to critically engage with dominant societal power relations and establishment dogmas, in all aspects of society and would continue to do so”
According to The Wire, the development comes days after the law college responded to the ABVP’s complaint against Singh, saying the body does not have a “locus standi” to raise objections about her teaching. The college refused to terminate her services. The ABVP’s complaint claimed Singh’s lectures promote “socially hateful thoughts about a particular religion”.
According to the Indian Express, Jha said he was aware of the ABVP’s letter but added that he has filed the complaint in a “personal capacity”.
Jha told the paper that he is a “practicing Hindu Brahmin” and described Singh as “Hindu-phobic”. He added: “Since she is a woman I went to the police station. She has filed a counter-compliant of abuse and threat to life. I could have gone directly to the college and sought action. (But) I have not.”