My Career has Been Ruined Because I Have a Different Opinion Than Them: Laxman Yadav

Dr Laxman Yadav, who has been teaching as an ad-hoc assistant professor in the Hindi department of Delhi University's Zakir Husain College for almost 14 years, has been fired.  

Yadav is one of those teachers at Delhi University who has been speaking openly on social issues. He is as popular among college students as he is on social media. There is a long list of people following him on X and YouTube. He has often been seen speaking on social media and in public meetings, raising issues.

But now he has been expelled from the college. 

While sharing his termination letter on X, Yadav wrote the lines from a famous poem by Gorakh Pandey.

"There was no sir in my tone,

It was no more my fault than this."

आधिकारिक सूचना. हमसे हमारी धड़कन छीन ली गई. वज़ह नहीं बताई. मगर वज़ह जगज़ाहिर है.

मेरे लहजे में जी-हुजूर न था
इससे ज्यादा मेरा कसूर न था.

वे डरते हैं
किस चीज़ से डरते हैं वे
तमाम धन-दौलत
गोला-बारूद पुलिस-फ़ौज के बावजूद?
वे डरते हैं
कि एक दिन
निहत्थे और ग़रीब लोग
उनसे… pic.twitter.com/Yd9ntKfGqX

— Dr. Laxman Yadav (@DrLaxman_Yadav) December 6, 2023

There is a strong reaction on social media over the removal of Yadav. Students in the college also protested against his expulsion.

Dr Laxman Yadav 

Yadav, a resident of Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, always topped in studies. A Gold Medalist in MA at Allahabad University and after qualifying JRF (Junior Research Fellowship), he moved to Delhi in 2009 with the dream of becoming an IAS officer. Along with preparing for IAS, he took admission in a PhD programme at Delhi University. 

In 2010, he got a chance to give an interview at Zakir Hussain College and got a teaching job on an ad hoc basis. On September 1, 2010, he joined the Hindi department of Zakir Husain College, Delhi University. 

"On September 1, 2023, 13 years were completed, and the 14th year was going on." The story is that when the interview was held this time, they did not go for a teacher with 14 years of experience."

NewsClick spoke in detail with Dr Laxman Yadav.

Nazma Khan: We saw your termination letter (online), but nothing special is written.

Laxman Yadav: If we talk about rules and regulations, there are Academic Performance Indicators (API). Calls for interviews are made based on marks out of 100 in API. My score is 96 out of 100. I have also posted it on Twitter today.

Academic Performance Indicators (API) : 96/100

ये चार नम्बर भी इसलिए कम हुए कि हमारे BA MA में 80% से ज़्यादा नहीं हैं। अन्यथा 100/100 होते। भले ही ये इंटरव्यू के पहले की पात्रता है।

बावज़ूद इसके अगर आपको परमानेंट नहीं किया जाए, तो एक बात स्पष्ट है, यहाँ नियुक्ति पाने के लिए… pic.twitter.com/vUWpTHzld6

— Dr. Laxman Yadav (@DrLaxman_Yadav) December 7, 2023

The rules were changed earlier, but they did not change. Let's talk about API. It is a measure of merit, but interviews are not held based on API. The whole authority is with the interview board. They can decide who gets hired and who is put on the waiting list. There is no rule that can make the board give reasons for their choices. They do not need to explain why a teacher with 14 years of experience is being replaced by a teacher without experience. I want to know why I was removed. 

NK:You raised questions about the interview. Do you think the rules were ignored?

LY: I will not claim that they have ignored any guidelines because these are very clever people. They have enough opportunities to exclude someone even after conducting a proper interview because they do not have to explain the reason anywhere. They have to give the final result.

But inside, when the result is declared on the last day of the interview, the conversation starts about what decision must be made. Theoretically, the conversation should revolve around the merit of the interview and work experience. It should focus on the number of good publications and academic records. But there, the conversation was like, "We have removed Laxman Yadav. You can keep anyone you want." In this, the Principal, Chairperson, VC, Nominee, and all these people were on one side. They were sent with some instructions from above that you can appoint anyone but Laxman Yadav. For this reason, all this was done.

NK: This hasn't just happened in Zakir Hussain College. Eight ad hoc teachers were removed from Ramjas college. There was a protest for them. There was a similar protest for you. One thing is certain: students support you.

LY: My case is a little different and one step ahead of all the other people being removed. Many teachers were also fired because they did not go to RSS (Rahstriya Swayamsevak Sangh) shakhas or any professor's chamber to flatter them.

Appointments in the university should be made based on merit and teaching experience, so that good teachers are retained and the university also becomes good. But nothing like this is happening. This is a very clear message. If you belong to our Sangh branch, are an ABVP office-bearer, or are a relative of some BJP leader or professor, you will be appointed, instead of others. Those teaching for over a decade have been removed. 

It is a matter of regret that those fired cannot muster enough courage to come forward to protest, because today, if I am coming forward to protest, then I know that my future career is over. But if I don't say this today, I will go down in my own eyes.

My only regret is that the university is being completely ruined, and many people have been thrown out. There were two reasons for throwing me out: I was not in their camp. Second, I am an ideological challenge to them; I have different opinions from them, so they ruined my career to punish me. 

NK: Samarveer, an ad hoc teacher at Hindu College, died by suicide this year. Many teachers being fired have taught in the college for a long time. If they are being fired like this after so many years, what options are left for them in terms of career?

LY: We have been asking the same question for years: "Save Education, Save Nation." Whatever fight we fought, we fought to ensure that our institutions are not ruined. However, what is happening is that we have left many careers and have given the most valuable time of our lives to this profession. Suppose I have taught in this college for 14 years and am now 35 because I got a job at 21. At 35, all my avenues to find another career have been exhausted.

Fourteenyears means teaching 14 batches. Our students who qualified in competitive exams have got jobs at many places and became professors at the same Delhi University. After 14 years, the selection committee felt that I was not capable of becoming a teacher. Did the university let an incompetent teacher ruin the future of its students for 14 years? And if you have given me a continuation letter for 14 years, it means that I am a good teacher, and when I have been a good teacher for 14 years, how did I become a bad teacher in a 14-minute interview? There are many such questions.

When someone is being sacked, all the doors are closed for them. We cannot explain to our family members and relatives that we do not fit in the system, meaning, 'There was no sir' in my tone, and that was no fault of mine.

The regret is that when our friends like Samarveer died by suicide when they were being fired, there was no uproar in the country over that. His family was ruined. But I will not go into that depression. I have chosen to speak against this even though I know this will further ruin my career. But if we do not speak against the injustice done to us, then who will speak? So, it is obvious that many people will be sacked. Now, they have no career option left.

NK: There have been teachers following different ideologies in Delhi University before, too, but such a situation has never been seen. Will there be only one ideology in universities now?

LY: I often ask that today, the RSS people who have become principals and professors must have been appointed when there was no government. This means the campuses were not run by ideology or the government. But yes, it is true that those who had governments had more influence, and many bad appointments have also taken place in the past. Still, it was not that they were against me or they were not with me, so all of them should be removed. This is the influence of RSS. There is a well-planned conspiracy. They are filling their cadre from one side to keep educational institutions under their control, and whoever is not with them is considered against them.

NK: How much do students stand to lose from all this?

LY: There will be many students from their (RSS) camp who will be tricked. My students have been crying ever since they came to know (that I was sacked); and I am crying for those students. It is not only the students' loss but the entire country's loss. You are not creating fearless teachers and professors; you are encouraging weak and enslaved people. 

NK: What will you do next?

LY: There are three things I am going to do. I will continue to write and speak on a series of things the entire country should know about what is happening within academia. I will tell the country whatever things are worth telling through social media. We will take it beyond a personal fight and turn it into an ideological fight.

I will work on a mission to fight for the country's education and save education. I will fight against painting educational institutions in one colour. I will oppose the environment against merit so that more careers are not ruined.

NewsClick tried to contact the Principal of Zakir Hussain College to discuss this entire matter, but could not reach him when filing this report.

(Translated and edited version of the article published on our Hindi website)