Nagaland Congress condemns naming of university library after RSS founder

The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee has issued a statement strongly condemning International University Dimapur's decision to name its newly inaugurated Central Library after Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, founder of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The Congress committee characterised the decision as "profoundly troubling" and called for broader societal opposition from those who support India's constitutional values of secularism and inclusivity.

While acknowledging that establishing a new library facility is positive for education, the committee criticised the university's choice to honour the founder of an organisation they describe as being "rooted in the idea of converting India into a RSS ideology conforming Hindutva State."

The statement highlighted particular concern about this decision occurring in Nagaland, a state with a significant minority population that the committee claims has "historically been at the receiving end of the RSS engineered majoritarian discriminatory agendas."

"This is nothing short of putting salt to injury on the people of Nagaland and the minority communities living all over India," the statement noted.

The Nagaland Congress has pledged to "oppose their efforts to poison our children's minds, unapologetically and unwaveringly."

International University Dimapur, previously known as The Global Open University Nagaland, has not yet responded to the criticism.