UoH faculty backs suspended teachers
Hyderabad: Coming out in support of the two suspended faculty members, the University of Hyderabad (UoH) Teachers’ Association (UHTA) and the SC/ST Teachers’ Forum on Thursday demanded the administration immediate and unconditional revocation of the suspension.
The teaching staff will also conduct a protest rally in front of the administrative building on Friday with these demands.
“Faculty members on the campus are distressed because of the suspension of Tathagata Sengupta and K.Y. Ratnam. After their arrest in March, this is a double punishment they are being made to go through,” said P. Thirumal, general secretary, UHTA. He added that the association will resort to certain ‘measures’ if the UoH administration does not revoke their suspension.
Another UoH faculty member Sheela Prasad said, “In the last few months, we are being forced to approach the courts. You cannot criminalise dissent; campuses should have space for it. That is the biggest strength of this university,” she added.
Association president Abani K. B. stated that it was the administration’s obligation to protect the rights of its teachers. He added that faculty members had taken a ‘serious’ note of the suspension and that there would be other ramifications if it was not revoked. “The protests will go on till our demands are met,” he added, while addressing the media outside the UoH main gate on Thursday.
The faculty members also pointed out that both Prof. Sengupta and Prof. Ratnam were suspended from the date of their arrest, i.e. March 22, though they had conducted classes. They were served with the notice on June 13, and since then they are on a relay hunger strike. They were among the 26 who were arrested by the police after students protested in front of the VC’s lodge, demanding his resignation.
As per rules, the administration has to review the suspension every 90 days, said Pro VC-1 Vipin Srivastava. Given that their suspension was put in effect from March 22, it is likely to be reviewed within a week, when the period ends, he added.
Source: The Hindu
