Karnataka Govt asks police to act against IIM Bengaluru director and others in caste discrimination row

Dr Das, a member of the Scheduled Caste community who joined IIM-B in 2018, complained to President Droupadi Murmu during her visit to the institute in January. Following directions from the President’s office, the state government’s DCRE initiated an inquiry into the matter in March.

Arun Chakravarthy, ADGP of the DCRE, noted in his inquiry report submitted to the Social Welfare Department on November 26, “Evidence indicates that Dr. Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director of IIM-B, publicly disclosed Dr. Gopal Das’s caste through a mass email, leading to allegations of humiliation. Additionally, both Dr. Krishnan and Dr. Dinesh Kumar, Dean (Faculty), are accused of contributing to workplace discrimination by denying Dr. Das equal opportunities. Furthermore, IIM-B reportedly failed to comply with statutory norms by not establishing an institutional mechanism to address grievances of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees, as mandated by law.”

Dr Das accused prominent cardiologist Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, who is also the chairman of the Board of Governors at IIM-B, along with Dr Krishnan, Dr Dinesh Kumar, Prof Sreelata Jonnalagedda, Prof Rahul De, Prof Ashish Mishra, and Prof Chetan Subramanian of caste-based discrimination in his complaint.

However, when the DCRE initiated an inquiry against the seven accused, only Dr Shetty obtained a stay against the proceedings from the Karnataka High Court. Consequently, based on the DCRE report, the Government has recommended initiating legal action against the other six officials under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 2015.

However, Dayananda told indianexpress.com that he had not yet seen the letter from the social welfare department.

IIM-B’s Response

In a detailed statement, IIM-B rejected the allegations and said that Dr Das was denied promotion because of harassment charges filed against him by doctoral students.

“IIMB has a Diversity and Inclusion Cell, along with a Diversity and Inclusion Grievance Redressal Committee (DIGRC), which provides support and promptly addresses grievances, ensuring a discrimination-free atmosphere. Furthermore, it follows constitutional directives in the admission of students to its academic programmes and adheres to its obligations regarding reservations for SC, ST, OBC, and EWS students in its academic programmes, including its flagship two-year Post Graduate programme in Management that leads to the award of an MBA degree,” the institute said.

The institute further said, “IIMB is aware of the investigation initiated by the DCRE and has shared all relevant information with them. It has not received a copy of any report. However, if the media reports are to be relied upon, then it is an unfortunate development, but we cannot comment on any specifics without a copy of the report.”

IIM-B claims that Dr Das was hired as an associate professor despite applying for the assistant professor role, based on his credentials. He was entrusted with key responsibilities, including as chairperson of the Institutional Review Board, and given membership in several committees.

Additionally, the institution defended its decision to withhold his promotion, citing complaints of harassment by doctoral students.

“Dr. Das’s allegations of discrimination against the Institute and its faculty arose only when his application for promotion was put on hold due to complaints of harassment lodged by some doctoral students against him. An inquiry conducted by IIMB, as per the rules, with a committee that included a reputed academic from the SC category from an eminent institution, found that the students’ complaints were justified. The DIGRC found Dr. Das’s complaints of harassment and discrimination to be unfounded. It is important to note that all evidence regarding this matter has been provided by IIMB to the DCRE. However, based on news reports suggesting that the Institute has been indicted, it appears that this evidence has not been considered by the DCRE,” the institute said.

“IIMB remains committed to fostering an inclusive academic community and will continue to uphold its legacy of excellence and integrity, and will take appropriate action in consultation with legal experts,” the statement added.