Univ sociology HOD denies allegations of caste discrimination and mental harassment made by protesting students
A group of 20-30 students from the sociology department held a protest inside the department building at the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) against Head of Department Professor Shruti Tambe, on Friday. The students have alleged 'caste based discrimination' and mental harassment by Tambe. However Tambe has firmly denied the allegations of caste discrimination, and said that she trusts the administrative process to resolve the issues with the students amicably. A separate group of students have also come out in support of Tambe.
In a meeting with the HOD and faculty members on March 29, the students said that they raised issues of discriminatory remarks, irregular attendance marking, and mental harassment, and other issues. A document recording minutes of this meeting contained the signatures of 50 students. However some students now say that their signature was obtained improperly and that they do not support the contents of the document. Subsequently on April 12, the group of students sent a written complaint to the Vice-Chancellor Suresh Gosavi spelling out their complaints. The students say that their concerns have not been addressed despite this.
Speaking with The Indian Express, Abhijeet Vaidye, a second-year Master's student, said, 'HoD Dr Shruti Tambe has been making repeated taunts during lectures and outside the classroom about student's attire, personal circumstances, and one's background, leading to mental distress and harassment as we experienced it being targeted at students from certain so called backward communities. The HoD used terms like 'Chappri' against a group of students, which is really disrespectful and has affected our mental health.'
Denying this allegation, Tambe said, 'I have never ever used anything like that. Not even in my dreams. Forget about when I am in my senses. And 34 years I have been teaching. I have been writing, reading the Phule Ambedkarite Shahu tradition. I have never ever used such language to demean anyone.'
She further added, 'The information of the students' sit-in has come to my notice. I have always tried to conduct myself in good faith and with empathy. I have trust in the administrative process and the student community and I believe that the issues will be resolved amicably very soon.' Vice Chancellor Gosavi told The Indian Express that he was in Bangalore on the day of the protest and would address the issue after returning to Pune.
A student who said that his signature was obtained improperly backed Tambe and said, 'I have not heard the alleged discriminatory statements being made or even heard from others that they were made by the HOD. I would have supported the protestors if I knew anything like this had happened. We had met with the HOD for a different issue in the department, but these unrelated issues were inserted in the document after we signed it.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
32 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Checked mParivahan, visited Royal Sundaram office': When the penny dropped for victim of vehicle insurance ‘scam'
In February 2023, Dayanand Sharma fom Delhi, 45, met with a road accident while driving his car. Though he was worried at first, he took solace in the fact that he had a vehicle insurance of Royal Sundaram General Insurance to cover the cost of damages his car suffered. However, three days later, when he checked mParivahan, a mobile application developed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways that provides citizens with access to various transport-related services, nothing appeared as he entered his credentials and insurance details. This, he said, raised alarm bells in his mind. 'After this, I showed my insurance to a man I knew in Ghaziabad. He spotted it as a fake insurance instantly. I own a car and I had been sold a two-wheeler insurance at a premium of Rs 15,000 by agents who reached out to me over the phone,' Sharma told The Indian Express. 'I went to an office of Royal Sundaram General Insurance Company and was shocked to find out that my insurance was fake. Even my name on the documents was wrong,' he said. 'I never thought someone could defraud you like this… is it worth scamming someone for a few thousand bucks?' asked Sharma, who is one of the 5,000 people from Delhi allegedly duped in a countrywide vehicle insurance scam. On Monday, the Delhi Police's Crime Branch registered a First Information Report (FIR) after a court's direction. Royal Sundaram General Insurance Company Limited alleged that various agents and intermediaries had issued fake policies to over 80,000 customers across India. According to the FIR, unidentified insurance agents allegedly misused the company's website to sell fraudulent policies to unsuspecting customers. The accused allegedly sold policies using incorrect details such as email addresses, contact numbers, and vehicle models, it said. The FIR said the agents allegedly defrauded customers by charging a premium amount for four-wheelers while issuing two-wheeler insurance policies. Royal Sundaram General Insurance discovered the irregularities when it received several summonses from the motor accident claims tribunals of various states regarding insurance claims from accident victims. It claimed that it understood the modus operandi of the agents when customers like Sharma came to them.
Scroll.in
2 hours ago
- Scroll.in
UP Police raids fake ‘embassy' in Ghaziabad, arrests ‘ambassador' of non-existent West Arctica
The Uttar Pradesh Police have unearthed a fake 'embassy' operating in Ghaziabad and arrested a man claiming to be an 'ambassador' of a non-existent country called 'West Arctica', The Indian Express reported on Wednesday. The arrested man was identified as Harsh Vardhan Jain, a resident of Kavi Nagar in Ghaziabad, PTI reported. Additional Director General of Police Amitabh Yash claimed that Jain was running a bogus embassy from a rented house and projected himself as the diplomatic representative of several non-existent countries such as West Arctica, Saborga, Poulvia and Lodonia, the news agency reported. The accused also moved around in vehicles bearing fake diplomatic number plates, Yash added. Jain reportedly used the setup to pass himself off as a powerful global player. 'He used the guise of diplomacy to influence businessmen, promise them access to international markets, and run a hawala network through shell companies,' The Indian Express quoted the police as saying. Preliminary investigations further suggested that Jain brokered deals by falsely promising job placements for companies and persons in foreign countries, PTI reported. After his arrest on Monday, the police seized four vehicles bearing fake diplomatic number plates, 12 forged diplomatic passports, fake documents bearing Ministry of External Affairs seals, forged PAN cards, rubber stamps of several countries and companies, and fake press cards, PTI reported. The police also said that Rs 44.7 lakh in cash, foreign currency, documents linked to several companies and fake diplomatic number plates were seized. A first information report was filed at the Kavi Nagar Police Station and further investigation was underway, The Indian Express reported. In 2011, Jain had been booked for illegally possessing a satellite phone, PTI reported. He has also been linked to controversial godman Chandraswami and international arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi earlier.
Indian Express
5 hours ago
- Indian Express
‘Give us back last 20 years': Son of Mumbai blasts accused, who died in jail 4 years before acquittal
Abdullah Ansari was six years old when his father, Kamal Ahmed Mohammad Vakil Ansari, was arrested from Basopatti in Bihar's Madhubani district after being accused of involvement in the Mumbai train blasts of July 11, 2006, in which 189 people were killed. 'I don't remember much… At that age, children just about know how to walk properly,' he told The Indian Express on Tuesday. On Monday, nearly two decades after his father's arrest, the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 men convicted in the case. This included a posthumous acquittal for Kamal Ansari, who died in jail in 2021 at the age of 50. 'The only thing I want to say is, give us back the last 20 years… Only we know what we went through during these years,' said Abdullah, who last met his father in 2017. He said the High Court judgment came too late. 'What was meant to be wrapped up by the MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) court in two-four years dragged on for much longer, and then it took another decade in the High Court. My father died in jail.' According to official records, Kamal Ansari died of Covid at Nagpur Central Jail in 2021, during the height of the pandemic. 'What happened was wrong, not just to my father but also to the others whose lives were destroyed by this process. Can anyone give back those 20 years to us, or to the 11 other families that also suffered?' Abdullah said. In July 2006, 189 people were killed and 824 injured in a series of blasts that ripped through seven Mumbai local train coaches. Kamal Ansari had been accused of receiving arms training in Pakistan, ferrying Pakistani terrorists across the Indo-Nepal border, and helping plant explosives that detonated at Matunga station in Mumbai. However, his son said Kamal was a worker trying to make ends meet by doing odd jobs in Madhubani and nearby areas. In 2015, a special MCOCA court sentenced Kamal Ansari and four others to death on charges of organised crime, criminal conspiracy, spreading terror and murder, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Explosives Substances Act, 1908, MCOCA, and Railways Act, 1989. After his father's arrest, Abdullah said that 'his mother and three brothers endured severe financial hardship'. The eldest among the siblings, Abdullah now works in a private company in Delhi, as does his brother Obedullah. Another brother, Abdul, works in Darbhanga, while the youngest, Sufian, is still studying.
