Muslim Vice-Principal Forced to Resign in Kolkata, Room ‘Purified’ with Ganga Water

After Dr Mohammadia Tarannum, vice-principal of Kolkata’s Surendranath Law College, was forced to resign following a 23-hour protest, her office was sprinkled with ‘Ganga water’ and incense was burned inside. The incident was carried out by students backed by the Hindutva organisation Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

The protesting students claimed that they carried out the act to remove the influence of the previous Trinamool Congress government and supposedly ‘purify’ the room. During the protest, Dr Tarannum had a heated exchange with the demonstrators. She alleged that she was confined to her own room throughout the prolonged protest and that the lights and fans were switched off. She was even deprived of basic necessities such as water and food.
While leaving the premises, Dr Tarannum told reporters that she had been forced to resign and was the victim of a deep conspiracy. Although her resignation letter cited “family, health and personal issues”, she made it clear that she had been compelled to resign under intense pressure from the protesters.

Dr Tarannum alleged that some people had deliberately sought to remove her because she had attempted to restore discipline among the students. She also called for the intervention of the Higher Education Minister to resolve the deadlock. Rejecting allegations of political links, she said, “I have no connection with the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Although I was associated with Left politics in the past, I have never worked for anyone’s personal interests.” Dr Tarannum said she had informed Governing Council Chairman and BJP leader in charge of higher education Kaustav Bagchi, the Higher Education Department and the University of Calcutta about the situation but received no assistance.

Later, as she was leaving the college campus under police protection, a group of students surrounded her car and continued chanting slogans. Even while getting into the car, Dr Tarannum repeatedly said, “I did not resign voluntarily; I was forced to resign.”

The incident began mainly over a notice concerning college attendance. The notice stated that students needed at least 75 percent attendance to sit for the semester examination. The protesting students claimed that, following the intervention of BJP leader and lawyer Kaustav Bagchi, it had been decided that students could sit for the examination by submitting a self-declaration.

However, a fresh dispute arose over attendance percentages during the form-filling process, and it was eventually decided to reduce the requirement to 40 percent. According to the students, strict enforcement of the 75 percent attendance rule would have prevented around 600 of the college’s 900 students from sitting for the examination. In one semester, 144 out of 180 students reportedly had attendance below 40 percent.

Against this backdrop, Kaustav Bagchi accused Vice-Principal Dr Tarannum of creating an “anti-student environment”. However, he acknowledged that the 75 percent attendance requirement was reasonable, but alleged that students had been pressured without being given an opportunity to voice their concerns. A meeting between the college authorities and students on Thursday, attended by Kaustav Bagchi, also failed to produce a final solution, and protests continued on campus.

Eventually, the extremist student organisation ABVP celebrated Dr Tarannum’s resignation, describing it as a “victory for students’ rights.”