Censured in Kolhapur

If you’re an ’80s or ’90s kid, chances are that at one point or the other in your life, you may have wanted to be a teacher. Growing up in that era, the possibilities were limited — doctor, policeman/woman, lawyer, engineer, teacher. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Some foggy uncle or aunt would ask and pat would come the reply, “I want to be a teacher”. For children, it’s also about association and familiarity. We spent hours with our teachers five or six times a week. Our parents would bundle us off to school and be thankful that we were off of their hands — we were “the teachers’ problem now”. Not all parents, but most, remained dependent on school, college, and tuition teachers to impart education as well as life’s lessons. There was an implicit circle of trust between parents, students, and teachers. A profession that was revered and respected; a noble career tasked with shaping impressionable young minds. But that was then.

How many today even want to be teachers if they have another choice? More lucrative jobs beckon and myriad career prospects await that seem infinitely more exciting than the boring teaching job; so, why spend years in the thankless profession? “Those who can’t do, teach” — often used as a jab against teachers. But to be perfectly honest, teaching is still one of the most challenging and likely to be fulfilling professions. However, the role of a teacher in civil society diminishes when faced with vitriolic attacks.

You may not have heard of this incident (because who writes about such matters) but a case of censure of a professor is underway in Maharashtra. Professor Tejaswini Desai, who teaches Physics at Kolhapur Institute of Technology’s College of Engineering, has been facing brickbats. On June 7, she was asked to teach a class on human values and professional ethics. Instead of her proposed topic of gender discrimination, the class of 50 students opted to discuss religious discrimination. The discussions veered to the recent Kolhapur violence; and when some students began accusing Muslims of being rapists, the lecturer, in a bid to dispel the misinformation, allegedly stated that rapists could be from any religion. Unbeknownst to her, some students recorded her statements, selectively edited words out of context, and circulated the clippings on social media. Eight days later, a police officer shows up on campus to question her. While the college supported her, they asked her to issue an apology. When Desai stood her ground — after all she hadn’t done anything wrong — she was sent on forced leave as a disciplinary action. Now a committee has been set up to further investigate the incident.

88 of the country’s well-known academics have released their statement of solidarity with Desai seeking her reinstatement to work and assurance of her safety. The academics belonging to the India Academic Freedom Network include Naveen Gaur, Satish Deshpande, Apoorvanand, Rushdia Mehreen, YS Alone, Sabina Kazmi, Lalita Ramdas, and Brinelle D’Souza. But that’s all the support that Desai has received along with a handful of news articles in independent media. The professor stands alone in her fight to deliver impartial lessons to the students. Her rights were trampled on multiple grounds by vicious, communal hate mongers; her privacy outraged when she was recorded without consent; her professional life disrupted by online troll armies — who would want to be a teacher today?

The writer is an author and media entrepreneur. Views expressed are personal