At Kalakshetra Foundation, a prestigious arts and culture school in Chennai, students organised a protest on Thursday to call for action against four senior male academic staff who have been accused of sexual harassment.In the midst of the protests, the Foundation stated that the Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts would be closed until April 6 and that students should leave the premises. Yet, the students persisted in their protest, refusing to back down until they received justice. The demonstrations follow their dissatisfaction with Kalakshetras response to their objections regarding a senior male dancer who is set to stage a dance drama over the weekend. Kalakshetra is an autonomous organisation within the ministry of culture. The senior male dancer is alleged to have harassed women sexually.The sexual harassment caseOn March 19, Kalakshetra reported that their Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) had, at its own initiative, launched an inquiry and had found no validity to the allegations. Based on this, the National Commission for Women (NCW) made the decision to dismiss the complaint, despite the fact that the central organisation had tweeted on March 22 that it had instructed the DGP of Tamil Nadu, Sylendra Babu, to file an FIR against the alleged offender and Kalakshetras director, Revathi Ramachandran, for allegedly protecting him. On March 20, the Chennai police opened an investigation.Four teachers were named during the protests on Thursday after they were suspected of sexually harassing the students. A student who was participating in the protest revealed their list of demands and declared, “We will remain in solidarity until the accused are dismissed from the Academy.” When we write or speak about our issues, Kalakshetra dismisses them, one of the protesting students told the media. “They didnt take it seriously and kept promising to offer us a solution, but as of right now, we havent received one. We understand that if we dont join together, well never really see justice. We have reported four individuals for sexually harassing us, and everyone is aware of who they are. One of them, who has been abusing students sexually, will perform in an event the coming day. Thus, if this keeps happening, neither we nor any new students who join will be protected.Closing the campus temporarilyAccording to a circular issued by the principal, Pakala Ramadas, the Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts of the Kalakshetra Foundation would be shut from March 30 to April 6. The memo stated that “all residents are requested to depart the hostel within two days with immediate effect.” Examinations set for these dates have been rescheduled. In due course, new dates will be published.Students claimed that the college was using this circular to intimidate them rather than deal with sexual harassment. By evening, the institution had also been visited by the local police. One demonstrator who did not want to be named said, “Senior students and police are inside the directors chamber for a conversation.” “The director still claims that because there is no documentation and no formal complaint, nothing can be done. A number of emails with complaints filed to the ICC are now being collected.”
