New Delhi:Anvee Bhutani, the former President of the Oxford University Student Union, has denounced Rashmi Samant's book "A Hindu in Oxford," labelling it a distorted account.
Anvee took to Twitter on Monday following Samant's book announcement on August 5. "When Rashmi resigned, I ran, was elected, and served a successful term as an Indian Hindu President of Oxford University Students Union. Racism exists in Oxford, but Rashmi was not bullied because of her race, religion, or nationality. This novel propagates a false narrative," Anvee tweeted.
Charlie Hancock, a Twitter user said she was a reporter at Oxford University and alleged that Samant made puns about the holocaust. "I was a reporter on the Oxford University student newspaper, @Cherwell_Online, when this happened. The student backlash was nothing to do with Hinduism. Samant made puns about the Holocaust, and equated Cecil Rhodes to Hitler which drew condemnation from Jewish students," Hancock tweeted.
Rashmi Samant, the first female Indian Oxford University Student Union (OUSU) President elected in February 2021, introduced her new book "A Hindu in Oxford" via a Twitter post on August 5. The book chronicles the events surrounding her election and subsequent resignation amid allegations of anti-Semitic, racist, and transphobic comments.
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"At 22 years old, as the inaugural Indian Female President of the Oxford University Students Union, my historic victory quickly turned into a distressing ordeal of bullying, harassment, & threats. It was declared that 'Oxford students are not ready for a Hindu President,' leading me to step down from my rightfully elected position," Samant shared in an August 5 tweet.
She further added in her tweet that for centuries, there have been efforts to "gaslight historically oppressed communities and perpetuate institutional discrimination, with Hindus being among the timeless victims." Samant's tweet, garnering over 2.5 million views, and thousands of likes, retweets and comments as she received a mix of reactions from netizens.
In February 2021, Rashmi Samant achieved the distinction of becoming the first Indian female president of the Oxford University Students Union. However, she was subsequently asked to resign due to allegations of insensitive social media posts from her past. Allegedly, Samant faced accusations of racism after using the caption 'Ching Chang' in a photo from Malaysia and posting an inappropriate caption on a picture of the Holocaust memorial in Berlin.
In response to claims that Samant's removal was "racially motivated," the university clarified that the decision was unrelated to her religion or race.
