Clubbing Aaditya Thackeray with star Xavierites irks alumni

MUMBAI: A

St. Xavier’s College

event to kickstart its 150th year celebrations on Thursday was overshadowed by former students criticising its invitation to

Yuva Sena president

Aaditya Thackeray, a former student, along with other notable alumni.

An open letter calling the invitation “antithetical to the principles and values espoused by St. Xavier’s College” got the support of hundreds of ex-students on social media.

Thackeray, who studied in the college up to 2010, was invited alongside

Anu Aga

, ex-chairperson of Thermax,

Dr Swati Piramal

of Piramal Enterprises, Ashish Bhasin, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network,

Josy Paul

, founder, BBDO India, Sabbas Joseph, director, Wizcraft,

Shaina NC

, state BJP spokesperson, Amrita Raichand, television actress, and

Farokh Khodaiji

, TT champion. Thackeray’s presence did not go down well with the ex-students. “We, the alumni of St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, stand firmly against the invitation given to Aaditya Thackeray as a ‘notable alumni’ for the press conference...” the letter said.

… We believe his presence is antithetical to the principles and values espoused by St. Xavier’s College. Having to point this out is in itself cause for concern, since Thackeray’s most notable achievement as a student of the college was an act that was openly condemned by former Principal Fr. Frazer Mascarenhas,” said the letter.

The St Xavier’s College authorities defended their action using the argument of free speech. “We are glad our alumni are actively engaging with the college. We are happy they are concerned about issues which they have raised. We continue to stand for the values that Xavier’s believes in. The alumni invited for today’s press conference represents a broad spectrum of Xavierites from various areas: scientific endeavours, corporate entrepreneurship, creative fields, sports and those working with the masses. All of them may have different personal ideologies, but Xavier’s has always been open to diversity. Xavier’s stands for inclusion of all viewpoints and perspectives. You may agree to disagree with a certain viewpoint but everyone should be given a voice,” said a statement issued by the college.

In 2010, Thackeray led a campaign against the inclusion of Rohinton Mistry’s widely acclaimed, Booker Prize-nominated novel ‘Such a Long Journey’ in the Mumbai University syllabus. While the university buckled under pressure, the then Xavier’s principal criticised the move through a notice on the website. Last week, the Thackeray-led Yuva Sena again for MU drop award-winning poet Dinkar Manwar’s poem ‘Paani Kasa Asta’ from the third year BA Marathi syllabus for references to the breasts of an Adivasi girl.

Those opposing the invite are not convinced. “The institution is using free speech as an argument for someone who effectively denied it to another alumnus (referring to Rohinton Mistry). There is no dearth of notable alumni and the college could have invited anyone else,” said Akshay Shetty, an ex-student now based in Delhi. He, along with two others, wrote the letter. “In less than a day, we have over 900 signatures,” he added.

Thackeray, who reached the event just before it concluded, said he couldn’t comment as he hadn’t read the letter in full. Messages and calls to him later in the day went unanswered.