Allegations of sexual harassment and nepotism against four professors were noted, after posters came up on the campus of Jadavpur University, protesting against the same. The posters had hashtags that had ‘Death To Molesters,’ ‘Save Our Female Students,’ and ‘Save JU’ inked on them. All four professors named have been accused of asking sexual favours, objectifying women, and sending links of pornographic sites to female students, unsolicited.
However, at the same time, a section of students feel that it might be a smear campaign owing to the fact that all four teachers named are from a single department.
However, this has not been the first time Jadavpur University has been in the news for the wrong reasons. Earlier this year in January, professor Kanak Sarkar of the International Relations department came into the public eye after he posted an update on his Facebook, likening the virginity of women to a sealed bottle. In a fairly lengthy post, he went on to depict how virgins are better suited to be brides, and that led him to face the ire of students and netizens alike.
Subsequently, he was divested of his teaching duties and barred from entering the college grounds. Following the controversy, a lot of students, as well as alumni, came up with their horror stories of harassment and sexually coloured remarks at the hands of the said professor. Apparently, he was also on the list of sexual harassers in academia, previously compiled by Raya Sarkar.
Likewise, a research scholar from the same university resigned last year and consequently went on to record complaints of sexual harassment, slurs and remarks against a professor who was her course guide as well.
Furthermore, she said that he used to text her over social media, commenting on her profile pictures. Even after expressing her discomfort, she failed to stop the slurs and comments, following which she filed a complaint and an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) was constituted to look into the allegations.
In a leading university like Jadavpur, such allegations not only send out a message of educational spaces not being safe for women but also prove to be a major obstacle in the larger goal of realization of equal and inclusive academia. Lack of informed debates about such raging issues and no outrage by anyone other than the stakeholders have led to such a sorry situation. Influence, privilege and trivialization of women’s issues have led collectively to accused getting away scot-free.
Not only teachers but students have also been named in the past, in cases of harassment. Eklavya Chaudhuri, a student of the English department and a well-known name in the intellectual and slam poetry circuit in the city, is an example. Chaudhuri was accused by multiple women of inappropriate physical intimacy, molestation, uncomfortable messages over social media and more. While complaints were recorded, there was no major action taken, the reason for which is often attributed to the fact that Chaudhuri’s mother is the head of the department of English in the same university.
India’s colonial hangover of public influence through posts and positions that one holds is another important reason for a lot of cases being disposed off without any proper investigation into the same. While it is imperative to launch a full investigation before holding anyone guilty, it is also essential to have the resources and accessibility to provide the complainant justice.
In all of the hoopla that has materialized after the posters coming up on the campus, it is now important to see whether this outrage shall result in a just outcome or turn into another mass outrage, systematically silenced by the authorities and those in power. The answer lies in the times to come.
Featured image for representative purpose only.
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