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| Kolkata : Forced to quit job for sharing photo on Instagram |
A leading private university in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata has been embroiled in a scandal in recent months.
A former assistant professor at St Xavier's University told the BBC she was forced to quit her job after sharing pictures of herself in a bikini on Instagram. The university has denied this allegation.
The 31-year-old teacher has requested anonymity. He has also accused university officials of "sexual harassment" and said that "I was mistreated, and subjected to moral policing."
They have filed a police complaint and sent a legal notice to the university. In response, the university has accused the woman of defamation and demanded Rs 99 crore as damages.
"I was taken to an interrogation room."
The assistant professor says he joined the university faculty on August 9, 2021 to teach English to undergraduate and postgraduate classes. Two months later, he was called for a meeting in the Vice-Chancellor's office.
She was "taken to an interrogation room" where she was interrogated by vice-chancellor Felix Raj, registrar Ashish Mitra and a five-woman committee.
He was told that a complaint had been lodged against him by the father of a first-year undergraduate student.
The vice-chancellor said that the child's parents found their son looking at pictures of me on Instagram in which I was wearing only my underwear. He said it was clearly sexual (in nature) and requested the university to protect his son from such obscenity.
A piece of paper with 'five or six pictures' was circulated among the board members and they were asked to verify it.
'I realized I was being mentally targeted'
He says that in the pictures, he was wearing a two-piece swimsuit and these pictures were selfies taken in his room. He added that he shared it as a 'story' on Instagram, which means it will disappear on its own after 24 hours.
But the panel rejected his explanation, saying the photos were posted on June 13, 2021, about two months before he joined the university.
She told me: 'I was shocked. When I saw those pictures, I had a panic attack. It seemed surreal that my personal photos were being shared without my consent.
'For a moment I could not even dare to look at my pictures because the way they were presented to me and the conversation about them made me consider them vulgar. I realized that I was being subjected to psychological pressure. I started to feel pressured.
'Have your parents seen your pictures?'
I was asked why you did this. As a woman, don't you find it objectionable? As a professor, isn't it your duty to society to conduct yourself properly? Don't you know there is a dress code for women?
“They convinced me that I was bringing disgrace and shame to the university. I was asked if my parents were on Instagram and had they seen the photos. I started feeling nauseous and shocked.
He was asked to come back the next day with a written report.
Apologies and 'forced resignations'
The teacher returned to the vice-chancellor's office the next day and submitted an apology written 'on the advice of some faculty members, including the head of the gender cell.' was among the panel that asked him questions yesterday.
He wrote that 'if my photos are interpreted in such a way that they have damaged the reputation of the university, then I am sorry.'
He said it was a 'very unpleasant experience', but he hoped the matter would end there.
But the vice-chancellor told me that the board had unanimously recommended my dismissal. He said your pictures have gone viral, most of the students have seen them and they won't take you seriously and parents will complain. He said that it would be better if I resign voluntarily.
The vice-chancellor said that if she did not do so, she would "go to jail because the parents want to file a police complaint and (on their complaint) I will be arrested."
She says: 'I felt surrounded and I resigned.'
He said: 'But I was also very angry and I sought legal advice. My lawyer suggested that since my photos were downloaded, screenshots taken and shared without my consent, I should file a sexual harassment complaint with the cybercrime police.
"We didn't ask him to resign."
Father Felix Raj declined to comment on whether the committee had recommended his dismissal, but denied all allegations against the university and himself.
He said: 'We are a sacred institution of education. Being his senior and head of the university, I told him that he should not have posted these pictures.
He says that despite this he "did not force her to resign and she left of her own accord".
He further Said: 'They gave an apology on October 8 (2021). We accepted it. I thought that was a good sign. But then on October 25, the day the university reopened after the Puja festival holiday, he sent in his resignation.
"I expected her to return to work after the holidays. I don't know what happened in those two weeks. He also said that he had 'no grudge against him' and that 'we treated him very well'.
When The Hub asked him about his claim that the photos could not be available on his Instagram feed after he joined the university and a faculty member accused him of sabotage, Father Felix Raj said, They are 'not tech savvy.'
'A brutal form of moral policing'
The action against the teacher has been criticized as 'reactionary' by many students and alumni.
A petition has also been released on change.org, started by a former student of the university, Gaurav Banerjee, addressed to the Education Minister of the state of West Bengal. It has received over 25,000 signatures.
Mr Banerjee told the The Time News Today that he wanted the university to apologize to the professor and demanded that the government take disciplinary action against the committee for its harsh behaviour.
"I am glad that many people like me are appalled that the university could do something like this," he said.
Recently dozens of university students dressed in black and staged a silent protest outside the university canteen in solidarity with the professor.
One of the participants told me, 'We have learned of this brutal form of moral policing that one of our professors has been subjected to.
This is completely unacceptable. Why should anyone have a problem with what I do in my private space? Our personal space should be inviolable.
He added: 'The shocking thing is that the committee members, including five women, didn't think this was moral policing?'
"Maybe I won't be able to win."
The teacher at the center of the controversy said he was 'overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and grateful to those who have supported him.'
She said: 'After months of feeling down, I can confirm that people are finding it funny.'
She says that the right to privacy and expression is inviolable which the Constitution of India has given us and this 'surveillance' has gone beyond the workplace.
“How does my behavior before joining the institution violate their social media protocol or guidelines?” she asks.
"I firmly believe that I have not done anything wrong," she says. I may not win this fight but for me it is an important fight.
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