Two months ago Professor T. J. Joseph was forced from his car and brutally attacked in front of his mother and sister in Kochi, India as they returned from Sunday Mass. During the bloody attack Professor Joseph was stabbed several times and the palm of his right hand was hacked off by a sword wielding thug. Surgeons at Specialists Hospital in Kochi performed two advanced micro-vascular surgeries to re-attach the severed palm and Joseph spent the remainder of the next two months recovering at his home.

The attack on Professor Joseph had been carried out by Muslim extremists who were enraged by an exam question which they perceived to be offensive to Muhammad. Bowing to pressure from the Muslim community, Newman College suspended the professor and he subsequently issued a formal apology for his unintentional insult.

In an area of India where the growing Muslim population has been gaining political strength, the authorities often overlook threats and intimidation against the smaller Christian population. Well organized extremists actively provoke confrontations with non-Muslims in order to create a crisis which they can exploit for their own purposes.

The Telegraph India reports that Professor Joseph had healed sufficiently and "was getting mentally prepared to get back to work" when he was notified that.

The management said it was terminating his services with effect from September 1 for hurting religious sentiments, but added that it was leaving the case to the courts and the Muslim community's "discretion."

College sources said the management wanted to be seen as politically correct but wouldn't mind Baby "bailing out" the lecturer.