Kohima, April 2 (MExN): The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has condemned the decision of International University (formerly The Global Open University Nagaland) to name its recently inaugurated Central Library after Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, the founder of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
In a press statement, the NPCC described the decision as "profoundly troubling" and deserving of condemnation from all sections of society that uphold the secular and inclusive ethos of the Indian Constitution.
While acknowledging the establishment of the library as a positive initiative, it flayed the choice of dedicating it to Hedgewar, whom it described as the “founder ideologue of the RSS, an organisation rooted in the idea of converting India into an RSS ideology-conforming Hindutva state.”
The party alleged that this move reflects the “intolerance and bigotry” of the university.
It further stated that naming the library after the RSS founder in Nagaland—a state with a significant minority population—was "abhorrent" and amounted to adding insult to injury, particularly given what it described as the RSS’s history of “majoritarian discriminatory agendas.”
The NPCC affirmed its firm opposition to what it termed a "divisive act" and vowed to resist any attempt by the university to "poison our children's minds.
Nagaland governor, La Ganesan inaugurated the library on March 31.
