Delhi University's Shaheed Bhagat Singh College urged its students and staffers to follow the official X handle of Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh and share his posts expressing solidarity with the armed forces but withdrew the notice later in the face of criticism. The college's Principal Arun Kumar Attree explained the notice was issued to boost the morale of the armed forces and "has nothing to do" with the vice-chancellor. But it was withdrawn as some people had "misinterpreted the good intentions", the college principal told PTI.
The now-withdrawn notice, dated May 12, had said, "All teachers, staff members and students of the college are hereby requested to follow Vice-Chancellor Prof. Yogesh Singh's official Twitter (now X) account." It stated that members of the college community are "encouraged to retweet the posts shared through the platform" as a gesture of support and gratitude towards the country's defence forces.
"By amplifying these messages, we not only raise awareness about their courage and sacrifices but also contribute to building a strong sense of national pride and unity within our community," stated the notice that bore the signature of the college principal.
The notice, which was uploaded on the official website of the college, is no longer there.
Explaining the developments, Principal Attree said, "The notice was issued under the Nation First Campaign of the UGC to boost the morale of our armed forces. The notice had nothing to do with DU VC Yogesh Singh. The notice has been withdrawn by the college administration as some people misinterpreted the good intentions." Criticising the college's notice, DU Academic Council Member Prof Maya John said, "Following or not following someone on X depends on one's own preference. A directive to follow a person in authority by another person in authority is not simply whimsical but also promotes the culture of subservience among students and teachers." "This directive by a DU college principal is thus highly condemnable," John told PTI.
Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Singh joined X earlier this month, with his first post made on May 8.
On May 12, he posted about Operation Sindoor, which he said was carried out by Indian forces in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.
In the post in Hindi, Singh said that Indian forces "destroyed Pakistani terrorist bases and neutralised more than 100 terrorists, including the hijackers of (flight) IC-814 and the Pulwama terrorists".
The government and the armed forces "do more and say less, keeping national interest paramount," he wrote and concluded the post with lines from Ramdhari Singh Dinkar's poem 'Parshuram Ki Pratiksha', calling for unity and support for the armed forces and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)