Fear for safety after calling out London School of Economics, says Gurugram lad
Sumedha Sharma
Gurugram, April 4
Located in the heart of the city, Gurgaon village has hit the headlines overnight. Karan Kataria (22), son of a farmer who is no more and student of the London School of Economics (LSE), has called out the prestigious institution for allegedly being Hinduphobic and supporter of the cancel culture.
Terrible experience
From a young age, we are taught to be proud of our nation, but it seems to have become a crime here. Karan Kataria
Karan was allegedly disqualified from elections to the post of general secretary of the London School of Economics Students’ Union on accusations of being racist, Europhobic, transphobic and Islamophobic.
Speaking to The Tribune from London, Karan said he had been at the receiving end of vicious racism for being a Hindu and Indian on the campus ever since he stepped in. He was asked to seek counselling when he highlighted mental harassment caused to him.
While he has held the fort strongly so far, he says he fears for his and his family’s safety. His mother and sister have decided to stay away from the media glare. Villagers have set up a “guard force” to stop mediapersons or any suspicious element from entering the village and trying to reach the family.
“It has really been tough. From a young age, we are taught to be proud of our nation and culture, but it seems to have become a crime here. I thought being at the LSE was an achievement not just for me but my family too, but the experience has been terrible and I am scared,” said Karan.
Having studied at DAV School, Sector 14, and The Northcap University, Sector 23, Gurugram, Karan was the only Brown student who contested the union elections. He alleged that he was called a Hindu extremist and had a smear campaign against him on university social media groups. He was disqualified for being within two metres of the voting site. After Karan took to Twitter, other students have come out to highlight similar instances.
Tejashwini Shankar, a student from the LSE, posted a video to explain that on the last day of the elections, a malicious rumour was spread against Karan and those who campaigned for him were subjected to harassment.
Rashmit Samant, the first woman Indian president-elect of the Oxford University Students Union, said she too was forced to resign. “When I was ‘attacked, harassed, bullied and humiliated’ in the university for being a Hindu, I prayed that it should never happen to another fellow Indian on the campus. Seeing Karan this way is heart breaking.”
