Kolkata St Xavier teacher: ‘I was forced to resign because of Instagram photos’

A leading private university in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) has been embroiled in an ugly controversy in recent months.

A former assistant professor at St Xavier’s University has told the BBC she has been forced out of her job for sharing photos of herself in a bikini on Instagram – an allegation the university has denied.

The 31-year-old, who asked to remain anonymous, accused university officials of “sexual harassment” and said she “was bullied, abused and subjected to moral control”.

She filed a police complaint and sent a legal notice to the university, which responded by accusing her of defamation and demanding 990 million rupees ($12.4 million; £10.5 million) in damages. Older brother).

The associate professor said she joined the faculty on August 9, 2021 to teach English for undergraduate and graduate classes.

Two months later, she was summoned to the vice principal’s office for a meeting.

She was “led into the interrogation room” where she was questioned by a committee that included Deputy Prime Minister Felix Raj, Premier Ashish Mitra and five women.

She was informed that a complaint had been filed against her from the father of a freshman male.

“The vice-principal said this parent discovered his son was looking at my photos on Instagram where I was only wearing underwear. He said they were sexually active and asked the university to save his son. from such vulgar behavior.”

A note was handed out among the board members with “five or six photographs” and she was asked to confirm that they were hers.

The photos of her in a two-piece swimsuit were selfies from her room, she said, adding that she shared them on Instagram as a “story” – meaning they were gone after 24 hours.

But the board rejected her explanation that the photos were posted on June 13, 2021 – almost two months before she joined the university and before she accepted any requests. from her student to monitor her private account.

“I was shocked. When I saw the photos I had a panic attack, I felt so weird that my personal photos were shared without my consent,” she said. with me.

“There was a time when I couldn’t bear to look at my own pictures, the way they were presented to me and the conversation around them made me even think they were cheap. I realized I was being rocked. , I’m starting to feel sabotaged.”

“I was asked why are you doing this? As a woman, don’t you think that’s offensive? As a professor, isn’t it your duty to society to behave appropriately for yourself? Didn’t you know that women have a dress code?

“They told me I was bringing contempt and shame to the university. I was asked if my parents were on Instagram and if they would see those pictures? I felt nauseous and sick. hurt.”

She was asked to return the next day with a report.

The teacher returned to the vice principal’s office the next day and apologized, “writing on the advice of several faculty members including the head of the gender department” – a former classmate and an associate professor at the school. university is also a member. of the board that questioned her.

“If my image is interpreted in a way that tarnishes the university’s reputation, then I regret it,” she wrote.

It was “a very unpleasant experience”, she said, but she hoped it would end there.

“But the vice-principal told me that the board unanimously recommended my dismissal. He said that your photos have gone viral, most of the students have seen them and they won’t take you seriously. and parents would complain. He said it would be better if I voluntarily resigned.”

If she didn’t do it, he said, she “would go to jail because the parents wanted to complain to the police and I would be arrested”.

“I felt cornered – and I gave up,” she said.

“But I also felt very angry and sought legal advice. Because my photos were downloaded, screenshots were taken and shared without my consent, My lawyer suggested that I file a sexual harassment complaint with the cybercrime police,” she said.

Father Felix Raj declined to comment on whether the committee recommended her dismissal, but denied all allegations against the university and himself.

“We are a sacred institution of learning and knowledge. As her senior and as the head of the university, I told her that she should not give the pictures. that picture.”

Even then, he said, he “didn’t force her to resign and she left to act on her own”.

“She issued an apology letter on October 8 [2021]. We have accepted it. I think it’s a good gesture. But then she submitted her resignation on October 25 – the day we reopened after the Puja festival was off.

“I hope she gets back to work after the holidays. I don’t know what happened these two weeks,” he said, adding that they “have no grudge against her” and that “we don’t have a grudge against her.” I was very good to her”.

When asked about her assertion that the photos couldn’t be on her Instagram feed after she joined the university and allegations she was being vandalized by a faculty member, Father Felix Raj says he is “not an expert in technology”.

The act of hitting the teacher was criticized by many students and former students as “regressive”.

Mr Banerjee told the BBC he wanted the university to apologize to the professor and was asking the government to take disciplinary action against the committee for his high-handed behaviour.

He said: “I’m glad because, like me, a lot of people are horrified that the university can do things like this.

Recently, dozens of university students dressed in black held an impromptu silent protest outside the university canteen to show solidarity with the professor.

One of the participants told me: “We know of this barbaric form of moral control that one of our professors was subjected to.

“This is completely unacceptable. Why should anyone bother about what I’m doing in my private space? Our personal space should be inviolable,” he said. .

“The scary thing is that the committee members including five women don’t think this is the moral police?” he added.

The teacher at the center of the store said she was “overwhelmed by all the support and grateful” to those who have supported her.

“After months of feeling low, I feel affirmative that people are seeing it because it’s ridiculous.”

The right to privacy and self-expression is sacrosanct and granted to us by the Indian constitution, and this “surveillance” extends beyond the workplace, she said.

“How did my conduct prior to joining the organization highlight their social media guidelines or protocols?” she asked.

“My firm belief is that I didn’t do anything wrong. I may not have won this, but for me it was an important fight,” she said.