College authorities first called his father on December 22 and informed about expelling his son; two days later when Khan approached the college authorties, the proctor sent him the rustication letter on WhatsApp
Ahmed Azar Khan
Ahmed Azar Khan, 21, a third-year History Honours student at Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Urdu, Arabi-Farsi University, which falls under the ambit of Lucknow University, has been expelled by his Vice-Chancellor Prof Mahrukh Mirza, for sharing a dissenting post against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on Facebook and for calling students to gather in protest against the CAA and proposed nation-wide NRC.
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Describing his rustication as 'personal khunnas (grudge),' Khan said that the vendetta against him began in October earlier this year. "I had put up a post asking students to assemble for a protest rally against the mob lynching and rape in Kashmir. But I was threatened by the VC to not go for the march or else I would be expelled," he said, talking to mid-day over the phone.
He further added that as it was the VC himself who threatened him, he said, "I refrained from attending the rally since I was serious about my career and studies."
On December 17, Khan shared a post from a Facebook page belonging to an alumnus of the same University, where he had voiced his dissent against the CAA and NRC. "On the afternoon of 22 December, my Abbu (father) got a call from the college authorities informing him that I had been expelled. When he called and informed me about the same, I told him of not having received any notice from the college. On Tuesday (December 24), when I approached the college authorities regarding the same, college Proctor Neeraj Shukla sent me my rustication letter on WhatsApp."
When asked what his next course of action would be, Khan said that he will appeal in the High Court against his removal, once the court resumes after the winter break. "I believe that in a democracy, everyone has the right to dissent and protest peacefully. I don't think what I did was wrong. I want to tell the other students protesting against the CAA and NRC across the country to continue fighting," he added.
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