Vadodara V-C accused of playing coterie tune

Kane, however, refuses to believe he’s done anything wrong. Asked how he could suspend ateacher within 12 hours of appointing a committee to investigate the charges against him, he said, “I chose the lesser evil lest the students, who were accompanied by representatives of various women’s organisations, create a law and order situation.” Then why did he revoke it? Kane said, “The Senate wanted it”.

Asked if the vacillation did not expose his vulnerability, Kane said, “Both decisions were correct at their particular time.” He refused to buy the theory that his actions had blotted either his or the university’s image, reiterating, “Using force — which would have become necessary if the students’ demand was turned down — would have worsened things. The exams, which began on Monday, could also have been affected.”

That he stands alone in his belief is apparent from what Pragnesh Shah — a State government nominee in the Syndicate had to say. “The students would have settled for either the suspension or the V-C’s resignation. Kane could have resigned and stood by his ethics, insteadof worrying about the damage to the office furniture.” Tellingly, Shah now denies advising Kane in any way. Shireesh Kulkarni, another of Kane’s “advisers” who now denies any association with him, said, “Such incidents only reflect the V-C’s indecisiveness.”

Baroda University Teachers’ Association president A Peppala echoed Shah by saying, “It was unfair of the V-C to make a scapegoat of a teacher just to protect the university building. (It is) not important whether the teacher was at fault or the girl, what is germane is the denial of justice. A wrong precedent has been set.”

When Kane is asked if the incident could not be interpreted as his vulnerability to pressure tactics, Kane, however, is firm. “I did not succumb to any pressure. I am honest; I will try to do my best in every situation.” He dismissed the charge that the decision, and then the turnaround, has set any precedent. The V-C denied that he had a coterie of advisers, maintaining that he took his own decisions. When it was pointedout that he had neither the pro-vice-chancellor nor the registrar advising him, as should have been the case, he said, “I don’t have a full-time registrar and have to make do with an in-charge; as for the PVC, I have no problems.”

Many feel Kane is treating the university like the corporate sector, which abides by a strict hierarchy in decision-making. “But functioning at the university means consulting everyone, including students and the teaching community,” said Nikhil Desai, warning that once the students realised the impact of mob pressure, they could play the same card again.