‘Anti-India, Hinduphobia’: Students say LSE is discriminatory | World News

Indian students from law school London Discrimination and anti-India rhetoric based on religion are widespread on campus, the School of Economics said.

Karan Kataria, a lawyer who is pursuing a master’s degree at the LSE and running for secretary-general of the LSE Students’ Union, claimed on Sunday that he was disqualified from running for secretary-general for being a “Hindu nationalist”. job qualifications.

“I have faced personal, vicious and targeted attacks due to anti-India rhetoric and Hinduphobia. I ask @lsesu to be transparent about his reasoning. I will not be a silent victim of Hinduphobia,” he tweeted say.

A statement shared by Kataria on his Twitter account said he had earlier been selected to represent the cohort as an academic and, shortly, to represent the National Union of Students.

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He further stated that his friends and classmates inspired him to run for election, but “unfortunately, some people cannot bear to see Indian-Hindus leading LSESU, and in clear conformity with the appalling cancel culture that is uprooting our social communities “.

“Despite the overwhelming support I received from students from all over the world, I was disqualified from being elected as the Secretary General of the LSE Students’ Union. Accusations against me included homophobia, Islamophobia, queerphobia and a Hindu nationalist. What followed The biggest is the number of complaints against me. Me. Many false accusations were made to tarnish my image and character when, on the contrary, I have been advocating for positive change and social harmony,” Kataria added.

Kataria called the study’s decision a “gross violation of the principles of natural justice,” and the campus conveniently disqualified him without hearing his story or revealing the votes he received.

He also claimed that on the last polling day, Indian students were bullied and attacked because of their ethnicity and Hindu religious identity.

“Students raised this issue, but LSESU ignored it and did not take action against the bully. The silence of the students’ complaints about this unacceptable behavior also justified the allegations of Hinduphobia against LSESU,” Kataria said in a statement.

He also urged the LSE leadership to support him in ensuring justice is done for the benefit of all students. “Let us uphold the values ​​of Dr BR Ambedkar’s alma mater and ensure that all voices are heard on this large, diverse campus,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, another LSE student, Tejashwini Shankar, claimed on Monday (local time) that she had been targeted for supporting Kataria in the student union election. She also claimed that her targeting was based on her religious identity.

“I have been attacked and ridiculed for my religious identity and for supporting a friend in a student council election. The student council refuses to take appropriate action,” she tweeted while sharing a video message.

“Hi everyone, I’m Tejashwini, a graduate student at the London School of Economics, and I made this video to expose some of the unfair and undemocratic practices at LSESU over the past few weeks. The student union elections have been going on on the LSE campus, and a friend of mine, Karan Kataria is running for the post of General Secretary. In last year’s election, malicious rumors spread about him being queer and Islamophobic and claiming he was a Hindu nationalist. The news quickly caught on, I and others who campaigned for Karan were bullied, harassed and attacked on campus and online,” Shankar said in a video message.

“I have lodged a complaint with SU regarding this and called for the release of defamatory and harassing information, but I have yet to receive a response. But SU has responded very quickly to other complaints and rumors and has successfully disqualified Karan as General Secretary. This is bullying and harassment at the highest levels of an international institution that prides itself on inclusion and diversity, and I strongly condemn LSE’s inaction in this regard,” she added.