“It was my duty as teacher of Literature”: DU Prof Apoorvanand on his petition against Kanwar Yatra eateries order

Today, Monday, July 22, the Supreme Court heard a batch of petitions challenging the directions issued by the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments that eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route should display the names of the owners and staff outside such shops.

One of these petitions was filed by Delhi University's Hindi Professor Apoorvanand Jha and renowned columnist Aakar Patel, labelling the directions as ‘discriminatory and baseless.’

Speaking to EdexLive, Professor Jha expressed, “The nature of the order itself was unlawful and violated the principles of secularism. If you want to ensure that the Kanwariyas get food which is in conformity with the holy conduct of the Yatra, then you can ask the dhabas to display whether they are serving vegetarian or non-vegetarian food. But you are asking them to display the name of the owner and employees.”

Jha said that the order, in a sense, promotes untouchability and goes against constitutional principles.

“You are implying that Kanwariyas are not allowed to eat food prepared or served by certain people. It is discriminatory against different minorities like Scheduled Caste, Tribals and Muslims,” added the professor.

‘Teaching values beyond classrooms’

While speaking about what pushed him to approach the apex court against the state governments’ orders, the Hindi literature professor said that the directions went against the values which he wants to promote through education.

“As a teacher of Hindi literature, I want my students to read the works of Premchand, Agyeya, and Shakespeare, but before that, I want them to embody the values that Premchand wrote about. When these values are being violated in our real lives, what is the point of teaching them in our classrooms? When such things happen around us, teachers and academics become very irrelevant, redundant,” he expressed.

The professor added that universities and educational spaces should promote principles of equality, solidarity and non-discrimination among students, through different disciplines.

“Literature tells us that we are responsible for everything that happens around us and we cannot evade that responsibility. What is the use of reading Premchand, if you cannot act against the injustice happening in front of your eyes? As a student of literature, as a writer, as a teacher of literature, it was my duty,” Prof Apoorvanand further added.

The Supreme Court, today, July 22, stayed the directions issued by the state governments, stressing that food sellers must not be forced to display the names of owners or staff members employed.

The bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti passed the interim order while issuing notice on a batch of petitions challenging the government directives. The matter will be heard next on Friday, July 26.

When asked about the Delhi University’s stance on the petition, the academician said, “There have been instances of institutional censorship at the Delhi University in the past but thankfully, we still have this freedom which allows us to do what we are doing.”