Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed calls historian Irfan Habib ‘goonda’

Khan was referring to the protest against him during the inauguration of the Indian History Congress in Kannur in 2019. The other day, referring to the bid to disrupt his speech at the History Congress, Khan had stated that a conspiracy was hatched in Delhi to attack him. Habib had responded to the allegation saying that academics do not indulge in conspiracy.

The Governor had raked up the issue of 2019 last Sunday after his relation with the Kannur VC strained. The Governor had stayed the appointment of the spouse of CPI(M) leader KK Ragesh, who is private secretary to the chief minister, as associate professor of Malayalam in Kannur University. He also sought a report from the VC, saying that the university is in a shambles.

On Tuesday, while addressing the media in Delhi, Khan questioned why the VC did not report the alleged assault on him during the 2019 function to the police. “People are arrested for wearing black dress and for their Facebook posts. But there are people who are confident that they can attack me and no action would be taken against them,” he said.