Faced more harassment after complaining about caste-based discrimination to President Droupadi Murmu: IIM-B professor
The professor had raised a formal complaint with President Droupadi Murmu when the latter visited the IIM-Bangalore campus in January
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In his letter to the social welfare department, Gopal Das said, “Even though 50% of students are from the oppressed communities at IIM Bangalore and they face discrimination regularly."
(X/@IIMBangalore)IIM-Bangalore associate professor Gopal Das recently claimed that he faced further harassment after he accused the institute’s Director Rishikesha T Krishnan, and Dean (Faculty) Dinesh Kumar of subjecting him to caste-based discrimination.
The associate professor wrote a letter in this regard to the principal secretary of the Karnataka Government’s social welfare department last month. Notably, he had raised a formal complaint about caste-based discrimination with President Droupadi Murmu when the latter visited the campus in January.
Following the directions of the President’s Office, the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement (DCRE) initiated an inquiry.
In his letter to the social welfare department, Gopal Das said, “Even though 50% of students are from the oppressed communities at IIM Bangalore and they face discrimination regularly, the Director did not form any SC/ST Cell as per Government of India guidelines, despite my multiple requests since 2018. I got murder and blackmailing threats. I immediately reported these incidents to the Director without any result.”
He further said, “All the accused are emboldened by the fact that no one can act against them. However, I am of the firm opinion that the ongoing DCRE inquiry will not only deter the perpetrators from vengeful actions but also render expeditious justice and instil confidence that whimsical acts of those wielding power cannot jeopardize the academic interests and individual dignity of members of SC/ST students, staff, and faculty at IIM Bangalore.”
In response to a query by the Indian Express, IIM-B in a statement said, “IIM-B categorically and strongly denies all the allegations made in the letter. IIM-B is a law-abiding institute with zero tolerance for any form of discrimination. Any complaint of such manner has always been dealt with utmost attention and detail in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Institute and the law established.
“The Institute has strong internal mechanisms against any form of discrimination. The Diversity and Inclusion Grievance Redressal Committee (DIGRC) looks into all complaints of discrimination including those related to SC/ST. We do not want to comment further as the Institute has given its detailed response on the complaints made to the Hon’ble President of India to the authorities concerned.”
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