Video producer: Aparna Singh
Video editor: Karuna Mishra
"Many people have misconstrued my video. It was not based on or against any particular political party or leader," Karan Sangwan, ex-Unacademy tutor told The Quint. His statement comes a day after he was fired by the ed-tech company Unacademy after his video asking students to vote for "educated candidates" went viral on social media.
Talking to The Quint, he emphasised the fact that only a clip from his video has gone viral on social media, and that it was meant as a general remark, which he still stands by.
On X, (Formerly known as Twitter), Unacademy founder Roman Saini stated on 17 August that, "the classroom is not a place to share personal opinions and views as they can wrongly influence them. In the current situation, we were forced to part ways with Karan Sangwan as he was in breach of the Code of Conduct."
Your video is going viral on social media. When was that video uploaded? What were you trying to convey in it? What was the topic of the whole video?
That video is from my YouTube channel 'Legal Pathshala.' I am currently teaching a session. I was having a discussion with my students on the new Criminal Bills that have been introduced in Parliament. It was after the discussion that I felt it is my duty and my right as a teacher to give sound advice to my students and show them the right direction.
With regards to this, I told my students that when they vote, they should vote for the educated candidate so that their future is in safe hands.
'It Was a General Statement'
Sangwan told The Quint that only a particular clip from the whole video has gone viral and people have interpreted it in their own ways.
"Some people have misunderstood me, some have shown their support, some have said that I am running a political propaganda but there was no such intention behind my statement. Neither was it a video focused on a person, nor was it for any political party," he said.
Further, he added that as a teacher to a large number of students, the statement was made in a specific context and was not meant to slam the Criminal Bills either.
When did you get to know that your video has gone viral?
On 13 August, there was a class being conducted on the Unacademy platform itself. At that time, I got a call from the Unacademy team informing me that my video has gone viral on Twitter. They told me to delete that video, and that's why I deleted it.
How did you get to know that you have been fired from your job? Did Unacademy send you a letter? What did they tell you?
I received an email from Unacademy which stated that since I was wearing the Unacademy t-shirt while I had given that statement which was political in nature, I am being terminated from the job as I have gone against their code of conduct.
However, they did not specify what is political in nature here. Which statement is political and which is not? Will a general statement also be treated as a political remark? I got the email on 17 August which clearly stated, "You are immediately terminated from Unacademy."
In that viral video, were you referring to all political leaders or a specific party or a leader?
I haven't used the word 'neta' in my video at all. This has been misconstrued and misinterpreted by a lot of people. People took what they could from it. You can see the video again, I haven't said 'neta' or a 'leader' and in fact, anyone can be a leader, including a common man.
'I Stand by What I Said'
Sangwan emphasised that imparting holistic education is not merely limited to teaching a subject. "You also have to give more context and information beyond the subjects. It was in this reference that I said what I had said. I only want the best for my students and hence, I stand by my statement."
In a video that went viral on 14 August, Sangwan said, "I also wondered if I should laugh or cry, because I also have many bare Acts...and notes that we had prepared," he said. "But remember one thing – the next time you vote, choose an educated candidate so that you do not have to suffer all this again in life."
He added, "Elect someone who is educated, who understands things. Don't elect someone who only knows how to change names. Make your decision properly."
Shortly after the video and the news of his termination went viral, '#UninstallUnacademy' was trending on Twitter. Meanwhile, political leaders from across party lines such as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena, and Deepender Singh Hooda of Congress also criticised the decision by Unacademy to fire Sangwan.
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