How row over ‘fish curry’ led to Bangladeshi scholar’s expulsion from a Delhi’s university

“I am from Bangladesh and I eat fish,” Sudeepto Das told Scroll over the phone from Dhaka.

On July 15, the South Asian University in the National Capital Region expelled the 26-year-old scholar following a clash that broke out on campus in February over fish curry being served in the varsity mess. Scroll has seen the order.

A group of students, including members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, which is backed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, had stormed into the university mess on February 26 – the day of Mahashivratri – to stop fish being served. They alleged that serving non-vegetarian food on the day of a Hindu festival was “ideological terrorism”.

Das said he objected when the ABVP members tried to throw away the food and rough up the mess secretary, Yashada Sawant. “I am a Hindu. I am well acquainted with Hinduism,” said Das. “But these people wanted to impose their upper-caste notions [of food] on others.”

The scuffle led to a complaint against Das and his eventual expulsion. The proctor of the South Asian University, in an order dated July 15, found Das “guilty of serious misconduct” on the issue of serving non-vegetarian food on the occasion of Mahashivratri in the students’ mess.

Das alleged that the university targeted...

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