Vice-Chancellor of Visva-Bharati University (VBU), Prof Bidyut Chakraborty was under scrutiny regarding the issuance of an eviction notice to Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen. The notice had asked Sen to immediately vacate the 13 decimals of land that is allegedly illegally being encroached upon by him. The notice that was released was under attack by the students' association of Visva-Bharati University, even Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the action, issuing statements of solidarity with the alumni of the prestigious Visva Bharati, located in Bolpur, Santiniketan.
But, the row of allegations against him has not seen its end yet. The VC is under attack again and this time the alleged contention against him is his discrimination based on caste and inaction towards various ongoing cases within the university that deal with such matters requiring sensitivity towards castes and immediate resolution.
Prof Sudipta Bhattacharya, President of the Visva-Bharati University Faculty Association (VBUFA) claimed, “There are several criminal proceedings ongoing against the vice-chancellor, although the VC himself has quashed all these allegations but he is answerable to many for his actions.”
The VBUFA President added that there is an ongoing case of Professor Prashant Meshram who had served as a Joint Registrar in the university for more than 18 years. Prof Meshram has not only lodged a complaint against the VC, Deputy Registrar and the Public Relations Officer (PRO) but has written to several governing bodies regarding the matter.
A letter dated May 21, 2023, addressed to the Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Caste, which EdexLive has a copy of, states that he has been harassed, discriminated against and denied the opportunity for career progression.
He adds, “On February 22, 2023, I appeared for an interview and on February 23, 2023, I got the offer of appointment for the Registrar, Central University of Odisha, Koraput.” Meshram had immediately applied for his release from his position at Visva-Bharati and the process was allegedly delayed as there was no further communication from the university. The notice states that Prof Meshram mentioned how the fact that he is from the Scheduled Caste (SC) category and being offered a higher position at a university is extremely important for his career.
The professor states that he was also granted a no objection certificate (NOC) on January 30, 2023 from the vigilance officer while forwarding his application to the Central University of Odisha, Koraput.
But the university served him a letter stating that he has been charged with misconduct, namely:
a) lapse in payment to a contractor
b) audit query regarding the pay scale he was given while serving as an accounts officer, that alleged that he must pay the extra amount that he had been paid while receiving his increment
c) complaint received from UGC against him.
The university did not grant him his release on the grounds that his records are full of defects.
The professor alleges that this began after he had applied for his release and since then has not received his official release letter from the university. “The university in its history of 72 years has not issued such an order for the release of any officer/employee,” the letter states.
Not the first time
Minakshi Bhattacharya, a Trinamool Chhatra Parishad leader from the Visva-Bharati campus alleges that this is not the first time the VC has discriminated against the Dalit community. Minakshi, whose PhD registration has been cancelled as she took part in student demonstrations, claimed that during such demonstrations, the administration had rusticated three students but the students from the General category, namely, Falguni Pan and Rupa Chakraborty were re-enrolled but Somnath Sow, who is a Dalit student, was not given any respite and has been rusticated.
Further, EdexLive got hold of the FIRs lodged by students belonging to the SC/ST community on charges of molestation and harassment against VBU professors. In the case of Satarupa Sadukhan, a student hailing from the SC/ST community was allegedly continually harassed and molested by her professor Prasanta Ghosh for a long period of time. Although the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of VBU has acknowledged the matter but Bhattacharya says that neither any reports have been released by the committee nor any action has been taken against the said professor.
Another case of sexual harassment was filed by a PhD scholar from the Department of Education, Susmita Mondal, again, a Dalit student who had to file an FIR against her supervisor Rajarshi Roy, who already had two such cases against him and yet, he is pursuing his role of a professor with Visva-Bharati.
The vice-chancellor of the university was recently summoned by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes for allegedly denying admission to a candidate into a PhD course in Education.
“Not only students, but even professors are being discriminated against on the grounds of their caste,” says the TMCP Leader.
Professor Shaona Barik, an assistant professor belonging to the SC Community, from the Department of English, was not allowed to pursue a course abroad, despite receiving a scholarship as her release was not approved by the vice-chancellor, she alleges.
When EdexLive reached out to PRO Mahua Banerjee for an official comment from the VC, they refrained from commenting as the matter is pending before the court thus, sub judice.
