New Delhi, January 21
Delhi University today conferred on British Prime Minister Gordon Brown a Doctor of Letters (D. Litt) degree with much fanfare, even as academics and students from across DU sat on protest against the honour to the visiting British Prime Minister.
While Delhi University honoured Brown for “improving the quality of human life and promoting better human values”, students and academics on protest, bearing placards, feel that this is the very factor is lacking as they underline Britain’s overt interests in Iraq and the continuance of its support to the US on its Iraq policy and its maintenance of an armed presence in the trouble torn nation.
Meanwhile, Brown cut a rather striking figure in red and gold graduation robes as he received his D. Litt degree in the convocation hall that was a riot of colour with the heads of departments decked in their red masters robes and invited British dignitaries in their purple and golden robes. A beaming Brown declared that “this was a privilege” and further that “this is the best university in India as it educates nearly a quarter million students from 60 nations around the world. It is the biggest in Asia and I am honoured to be an honorary graduate of Delhi University.”
The British Prime Minister called for a ‘partnership of equals between India and Britain’ and stressed that “We are interdependent and what happens to the poorest citizens in the poorest countries affects the richest nations.” He urged the two nations to work together on shared needs and shared responsibilities and called for a much needed dialogue between the two nations and the search for consensus on ‘contentious issues’. The Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF) and the Students’ Federation of India
demonstrating with placards and slogans in protest against the honorary degree to Brown. “We are protesting on two grounds. First, the reason that Brown is being honoured here is because he is the British Prime Minister. Second, because of what he stands for -- Britain’s continuing support to the US on its Iraq policy and the maintenance of an armed presence in that troubled nation,” says Sanjay Bohidar, president of the DTF.
He further adds that, “It is a matter of shame to award a honorary doctorate degree to Gordon Brown who, after becoming Prime Minister, has supported and upheld the role of Britain as an American ally in the Iraq war. Earlier, an impression was created that the British army would be called back from Iraq within a period of 100 days after Brown became Prime Minister. This never happened and today more than 5,000 British soldiers are in Iraq.” Bohidar added. “It is an affront to what a university to bestow such a honour on the Prime Minister of Britain who is for an imperial order in the world; and these are not the values that the university stands for.”
