Leftist historian abuses the Governor of Kerala, breaks protocol

Thiruvananthapuram, 29 December (H.C.) The leftist historian Professor Irfan Habib at an event had misbehaved with Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and tried to disrupt his speech.

Habib, along with Governor Khan, misbehaved when the governor was addressing the 80th session of the Indian History Congress on Saturday. During the event held at Coonoor University, Habib objected to the Governor's speech. He proceeded to the Governor in violation of courtesy rules.

He was stopped by the Governor's military security personnel ( ADC ). Still, he did not come to halt and tried to move from the other side on behalf of the Governor. Arif Mohammad Khan said about the incident that Habib tried to physically stop him from giving a speech. He could have snatched the mic if the security personnel had not intervened.

In his address, when the governor quoted the statement of politician Maulana Abul Kalam Azad , Habib made objectionable remarks that you should cite Nathuram Godse instead of Azad and Jawaharlal Nehru. To this Arif Mohammad Khan said, "You will tell me whom do I quote?"

The host of the event, the Chancellor of Coonoor University, Gopinath Ravindran, expressed anguish over the incident, saying that Habib disobeyed the protocol (etiquette rule). Habib was not supposed to give a speech in the inaugural program, yet he spoke.

Habib, the acting president of the Indian History Congress, instead of apologizing for his act, said the institution had not invited the governor. He was called by the host university. He also denied that the etiquette rules were broken on his behalf.

In the annual meeting of this institution of historians, this disgraceful incident happened when Habib shied away from the agenda and criticized the Modi government for the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Citizenship Register. The governor said in his speech that he wanted to give his opinion on Habib's statement instead of reading the written speech.

When Arif Mohammad Khan started speaking, Irfan Habib and his supporters sitting in front expressed their opposition. Pointing to the people making noise, the Governor said that in the year 1947, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad had said, "In the flood of Partition, a lot of dirt has been washed away, some pits are really left which smells bad." Khan Said that he recognizes many people who make noise. They belong to Jawaharlal Nehru University and Aligarh Muslim University.

The governor said that he did not want to speak on the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Citizenship Register, but he has to speak when views have been expressed in his presence. When an attempt was made to interrupt his speech, he said that he was listening to other speakers and now he should be heard. Angry at the behavior of Habib and his supporters, the governor said that these people do not want to listen to others.