Banaras Hindu University row: Muslim professor’s father sings bhajans, offers namaz; nobody protests
Jaipur, Nov 21: The father of a Muslim professor whose appointment at the Banaras Hindu University's Sanskrit department has triggered a row himself sings bhajans at temples and serves at a cow shelter.
Nobody protests
At a temple in the premises of Shree Ramdev Gaushala Chetanya Dham in Bagru, 35 kilometres from the Rajasthan capital, Ramzan Khan on Wednesday participated in the aarti, sitting at a harmonium and singing a devotional song.
The atmosphere there is in sharp contrast to the protests at BHU where a group of students are opposing the recent appointment of his son Feroze Khan.
Ramzan Khan, father of Feroze Khan, whose appointment as professor in the Sanskrit Department of BHU has triggered protests, sings bhajans at a temple near Jaipur.
Although the BHU has backed Feroze Khan, he has been unable to take classes over the past several days. The protesters say only a Hindu can teach Sanskrit at the university in Varanasi.
But a visit to Bagru, where the family lives in a modest three-room house, reveals that the professor grew up in an atmosphere immersed in Sanskrit and Hindu traditions .
His father Ramzan Khan himself holds the Shastri qualification in Sanskrit, composes religious songs and performs gau sewa' at the nearby cattle shed. At the same time, he visits the mosque and offers namaz.
The local Hindu community as well as his own relatives are okay with this.
I was very happy when my son was appointed at the prestigious Banaras Hindu University. The protest by students is unfortunate and I would like to urge the agitating students to recognise my son and see what kind of background he has, he said.
My son wanted to learn Sanskrit like me so I got him admission at the school. He had the blessings of the teachers, acquired a high qualification and got selected at BHU, Khan told PTI on Wednesday.
I am confident that if the students listen to him with patience and see his family background, they would be convinced and satisfied, he added.
Ramzan Khan has had a better deal than his son.
I never faced discrimination on the basis of religion. We all live in brotherhood. I go to the mosque and often offer namaz, I go to the temple and do Krishna Bhakti and gau sewa, he said.
Sanskrit runs through my veins
He said Sanskrit runs through his veins.
My father also used to sing songs at temples. I learnt this from him. He made me learn Sanskrit and I also started dedicating time for gau sewa, and also composed songs. My time goes in Krishna and Bhagavad bhakti, he said.
At temples, he sings songs dedicated to Rama, Krishna, Shiva and other Hindu deities. Singing bhajans at temples and events like "jagrans" is also his source of livelihood.
Hindu seers in the area have come out in support of the family after the BHU row.
This is very condemnable that a person who is highly qualified in Sanskrit and got appointed on merit is being opposed only because he is Muslim. This intolerance should be stopped, said Saurabh Raghavendra Acharya, a `sadhu' from the Raghunath Dham temple near Bagru.
All our religious functions and the temple aarti are incomplete without Ramzan Khan. People in large numbers turn up to listen to him. He does it all in dedication to Krishna bhakti and never expects anything in return, said Mohan Lal Sharma, a priest from another temple.
He too is a Sanskrit scholar, serves cows and loves them, the priest added.
While Ramzan Khan meets people who call on him following the BHU protests, other family members appear reluctant to do so.
I only want to convey that people should see the qualifications of my son instead of judging him on the basis of religion, he said.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
