Dr Altaf Hussain Pandit, a chemistry professor at Kashmir University, was dismissed by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha for being a ‘threat to the security of the state’. Students are protesting against the order, urging that it be revoked
Dr Altaf Hussain Pandit is among the three government employees sacked by the J&K government. According to a dossier, he was an active terrorist with links to JKLF
A university professor is among three government employees sacked by the Jammu and Kashmir government. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha ordered the dismissal of Dr Altaf Hussain Pandit, a chemistry professor at Kashmir University, labelling him a “threat to the security of the state”.
Dr Pandit’s employment was terminated under Article 311 (2) (C), which allows the government to sack its employees without seeking an explanation from them or holding an inquiry into their conduct. According to the police, the professor was sacked on Friday because of his links with militancy in the past.
Protests erupted on Saturday against the government order and more than 100 students and scholars have written to Sinha, urging him to revoke the decision. This is the first time demonstrations have been staged against the sacking of a government employee since the administration started terminating those with alleged militant links.
Who is Dr Altaf Hussain Pandit?
Dr Pandit was a member of the sub-committee on New Education Policy (NEP), 2020. He is an award-winning scientist and editorial board member of publications such as the Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences and Computer Simulation in Application and the Lifescience Global publishing company in Canada, reports The Indian Express.
According to his CV uploaded on the Kashmir University website, Dr Pandit is a recipient of the Young Scientist Award from the Indian Chemical Society and an award by the Atomic Energy Commission of India. He worked as a coordinator for the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) special assistance programme UGC-SAP, and the J&K coordinator for National Science Olympiads Programme, among others.
He has served as a member of the board of PhD examiners for the University of Delhi and Jamia Millia Islamia University.
Dr Pandit started his career as a teacher in Kashmir in 1999 and then was appointed a scientist at the Pollution Control Board. In 2001, he was appointed lecturer at Kashmir University and became an assistant professor three years later. He was set to be appointed the head of the department when the termination order was issued, reports The Indian Express.
He completed a PhD in applied chemistry in 2000, MPhil in 1995 and a masters in science in 1993 from Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh Muslim University.
What are the allegations against Dr Pandit?
The professor was sacked after recommendations of a special task force set up last year by Sinha to recommend cases for removal from government services over alleged terror links. “The Lieutenant Governor is satisfied after considering the facts and circumstances of the case and on the basis of the information available that the activities of Altaf Hussain Pandit, professor in Chemistry department, University of Kashmir S/o Ghulam Hassan Pandit R/o Wadoora Bala, Sopore are such as to warrant his dismissal from service,” the government order stated.
According to a dossier on Dr Pandit, he was an active terrorist linked to Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front from 1990 to 1993 and is alleged to have organised several student protests against the state including those after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani in 2016. He had earned the moniker “Geelani of Kashmir University” because of his secessionist agenda.
He ensured Kashmir students participated in violent protests driven by separatists and Pakistanis through a combination of fear, favour and propaganda. Agencies claimed he was anguished by the fact that no university student was killed during the 2016 protests that claimed over 120 lives, according to a report in The Times of India.
The professor was among 20-odd key elements “who nourished the anti-India cartel” in Kashmir University, the dossier claims. He reportedly crossed the border for arms training in Pakistan and returned to Kashmir in 1990 and was influenced by Jamaat-e-Islami, an extremist organisation.
However, a police officer told The Indian Express, “There has been nothing incriminating against him in recent years but there are apprehensions that he has been close to some members of the Jamat-e-Islami.” After returning to the Valley from Pakistan, he had given up militancy.
What do students and peers have to say?
University officials and students protested against Dr Pandit’s removal. “He is a very dedicated teacher and has strong research credentials. He would always be there for students and would never miss his classes,” a protester told Hindustan Times, adding that the decision to remove him was against the interest of students.
A letter to Sinha by students and scholars said that the professor could “never have any connection with any anti-national activity in any manner”. “The experience we have had with Dr Altaf Hussain Pandit and the person we know, he is always a kind soul, a person of high value, character, and stature… We are sure such a person would never do anything that is against the interests of this nation or its benefits and are sure there might be some misunderstanding in this regard.”
Dr Pandit is among 36 government employees terminated in the past eight months under Article 311 of the Constitution.
With inputs from agencies
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