Lagatar24 Desk
The Vishva-Bharati was again rocked by protests over the rustication of three students on August 23. While the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday allowed them to rejoin classes making the way for normalcy, there have been frequent protests- by both teachers and students- since Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty took charge in October 2018.
Since November 2019, 22 staff members – 11 faculty members, 11 non-teaching employees have been suspended.
Some of the suspended faculty members said they faced actions for various reasons including writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi against irregularities at the central university. Five have challenged their suspension in court.
“The university suspended me for making derogatory remarks against a female colleague, which is a baseless allegation, and for circulating a complaint. Some of us had written a mail to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the Chancellor of Visva-Bharati, President Ram Nath Kovind and West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar against the V-C. These are not offences which can be grounds for suspension,” said Sudipta Bhattacharya, president of the Vishwa-Bharati University Faculty Association (VBUFA) who is among those suspended.
VBUFA president Sudipta Bhattacharya admitted that the allegations against some of the suspended professors could be true. “It’s a matter of investigation to find out whether all are guilty. But a large number of them have been wrongfully suspended, which is pretty clear from the causes cited by the authorities in such suspension orders,” said Bhattacharya.
Criticising the V-C’s actions, noted historian Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri said: “Teachers and students are an integral part of any academic institute. The V-C has made them angry with his decision on suspensions. He has failed to take them into confidence and resolve the issues through dialogue and discussion. He is not a good administrator and is acting like a dictator.”
“One cannot antagonise everyone in a university. The V-C has to handle issues delicately, taking into confidence all persons concerned. No university can be run by antagonizing both the teacher and student communities. A university is not a factory where one issues strict guidelines. A V-C should stay in regular touch with teachers and students. He can never take the situation to a point of no return,” said Pabitra Sarkar, educationist and former V-C of Rabindra Bharati University.
