"It is an outrageous...Atrocious statement. People who believe in democratic principles must stand up against this kind of attack on academic freedom," Raja said referring to Swamy's reported statement at a a seminar organised by the RSS-backed Akhil Bharatiya Itihaas Sankalan Yojana (ABISY) on 'A Forgotten Hindu Emperor, Maharaja Hemchandra Vikramaditya'.
Recalling the incidents of burning the Jaffna Public Library by "fascism-inspired mob of Sinhalese origin" during the Sri Lankan civil war in 1981, Raja said academicians had always been the target of right wing fascist forces and said that ever since the BJP has come to power, "they have been very offensive" in the country.
Books written by "Nehruvian historians" such as Bipin Chandra and Romila Thapar should be set afire, Swamy reportedly said after the complaint of ABISY that these historians had ignored many Hindu historical figures by design.