Hindu and Indian postgraduate student Karan Kataria at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has submitted a complaint against the LSE Student Union (LSE SU) alleging that they unfairly disqualified him from running for the position of General Secretary in the union’s election.
Kataria asserts that he was subjected to discrimination because of his Hindu and Indian heritage. He was chosen to serve as the Academic Representative of his Law School class and a delegate to the National Union for Students, but his application for the LSE SU position was denied due to allegations that he was homophobic, Islamophobic, and queerphobic.
Kataria denies these claims and accuses the LSE SU of cancelling his candidature without providing any proof or providing him with the opportunity to defend himself.
This is by no means the first incident where a Hindu student has had cause to complain about their disqualification in a similar manner. An example being Rashmi Samant, who despite being elected as the First Female Indian President of Oxford SU was prohibited from taking office.
This begs the question are British Universities in general institutionally Hinduphobic? Hindu students up and down the country look to their leadership for urgent action and support.
Photo credit: Shadowssettle