The Head of the Department (HoD) of Ancient Indian History, Culture, and Archaeology (AIHC&A) at Visva-Bharati University faces allegations of repeated misconduct in a letter dated December 6, addressed to the Acting Vice-Chancellor.
The complainant asserts that during a December 5 discussion on appointing an external expert for an upcoming Board of Studies meeting, the HoD used offensive language and even threatened physical harm, stating, "He told me that he will thrash me with his shoes." The letter further claims that the professor threatened to damage the complainant's career and hinder their chances of becoming a professor.
When EdexLive reached out to the complainant, they said that this was not the first time that she has been at the receiving end of such behaviour. “This is the fourth time such an incident occurred,” she said, adding, “Other colleagues took a stand for me this time but in vain.”
The Visva-Bharati Faculty Association (VBUFA) has released a statement condemning the HoD and wrote, “He was the dean of IQSC for a long time during the reign of Vice-Chancellor Bidyut, whose job it is to promote multiple but protesting professors at the behest of the Vice-Chancellor.”
When contacted, the HoD declined to comment, citing that he was unaware of the raised complaint. The matter is now with the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) and investigation is under process. The head of the ICC, Prof Sakuntala Mishra, confirmed that a complaint has indeed been raised recently and the investigation will begin soon.
VBUFA also alleges that this accused professor had previously unrelated research works listed on his Google Scholar page. Although they admit it could have been a technical glitch, they insist that such things resulted in the poor National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) ratings for the university. “Despite that, one should note that when he resolved the issue, the list came down to three and that is not enough to be promoted as a professor,” says VBUFA President, Prof Sudipta Bhattacharya, who claims that the HoD was promoted to the post of professor as a personal favour from the ex-Vice-Chancellor.
"Only one of them was published in a journal; the other two were papers presented at the Indian History Congress. According to the University Grants Commission (UGC) rules, one must have at least five research papers published in a journal to be promoted to the post of professor," he added.
The accused HoD, however, denies these allegations and dismisses them as political games. "Is it not a bit extreme that I would get promoted if I have forged everything? This is being done as a political vendetta, and I will not align with them," refutes the professor.
However, it is noteworthy that the former Vice-Chancellor, Bidyut Chakraborty, has been accused of attempting to saffronise the campus with a brigade of his supporters. He has entangled the university in numerous court cases with arbitrary suspension orders against faculty members and students, only to lose in the high court.
