The senior colleagues of Garga Chatterjee, an assistant professor at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), have appealed to the Assam chief minister to accept his apology for making “derogatory remarks” against Ahom King Chaolung Sukapha.
FIRs were filed against Kolkata-based political commentator Garga Chatterjee for his controversial remark describing Ahom kingdom founder Chaolung Sukapha as a “Chinese invader” in a tweet on June 17, 2020.
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A team of Assam Police went to Kolkata to arrest him at the directive of the Assam chief minister, however, he could not be arrested due to lack of cooperation from Kolkata Police.
Also read: Garga Chatterjee apologises over his remark on Ahom kingdom founder Chaolung Sukapha
He apologized for his remarks by posting a video on social media on August 22 where he said he had written to Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal expressing regret over his remarks.
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The appeal to the Assam CM by 18 senior colleagues of Chatterjee, said they are concerned “to come to know that our colleague at the Indian Statistical Institute, Dr. Garga Chatterjee, Assistant Professor, is facing multiple court/police cases in Assam in the last year as well as this year, all of which, we understand, are due to his posts in social media.”
Also read: Garga Chatterjee, an embodiment of Bengal’s intellectual bankruptcy
In May 2019, Chatterjee making the slogan “Chalo Paltai-2021” public on social media asked the Bengali people of Assam to get ready for a fight.
In their appeal to the Assam CM, the professors and associate professors of the Indian Statistical Institute said, “We have learnt that Dr. Garga Chatterjee has unconditionally apologized to you and also to the people of Assam for these social media posts.”
Also read: Arrest Garga Chatterjee, Assam CM Sonowal directs state police
“We appeal to you to accept his apology so that the career of a young scientist is not ruined,” they said in the appeal.
In the appeal, Chatterjee’s colleagues said they “do not approve any hurtful or disrespectful social media post on any respected historical personality like the highly revered Ahom King Sukapha in this case”.
“We feel that his posts may have hurt deeply the feelings of our Assamese brothers and sisters,” they stated.
“However, we, as his colleagues, are, at the same time, concerned with his dire mental as well as physical conditions because of these developments, especially when his aged father is suffering from cancer and the mother is seriously ill,” they added.
“Since Dr. Garga Chatterjee has admitted his mistake and tendered an unconditional apology, we sincerely appeal to you to show your kindness and magnanimity to him, and give him a chance to get out of this situation and lead a normal life,” the appeal said.