‘To sir, with love’: DU Students for Prof Hany Babu
Ever since the raid at Delhi University professor Hany Babu’s house, there has been an outpouring of support from the academic and activist circles. Various student groups have also issued statements condemning the raid and rendering full support in defence of Prof Hany Babu.
‘To sir, with love’:
Many students write letters to jailed Delhi University professor Hany Babu. 16 August was the birthday of Hany Babu, which he spent in jail. A popular professor, guide and mentor to his students.
Students and teachers shall be speaking about the struggles of Hany Babu for OBC rights and reservation in DU on 22/08/2020 at 5 PM.
Speaking about the professor’s contribution to the fight for language equality, the students said it was shocked to see that the Indian state would harass such an individual. “Teaching in an English department, Hany Babu also understood the immense power the English language carried with itself, and helped many of us understand the inevitable exclusions the English language makes possible. Hany Babu’s demand for language equality is allied to his demand for breaking caste exclusions in how knowledge is organised,” the solidarity statement said. The students also throw light on the fact that the professor was part of the Alliance for Social Justice that works to eradicate caste discrimination on campus.
“Prof. Hany Babu was instrumental in the implementation of reservation policy in Delhi University and had assertively engaged in the protests against 13 point roster system which was aimed at excluding SC/ST/OBCs from recruitment in higher educational institutions. ”
“If any student, or a teacher for that matter, faced any form of discrimination, they knew that Hany Babu’s door was always open for them. As students, we do not merely learn from him as a teacher but are also inspired by his political work,” his students said.
Students go on to share a piece from an essay by Soumyabrata Choudhury on ‘Who is a professor?’ and use a few lines to address their own professor thus — “It is only imperative now that we, Hany Babu’s students, “greet him in admiration, gratitude, and camaraderie” and proudly proclaim to the world, “Professor, he is our Professor!”
