JUTA holds sit-in to protest 'attempt to silence teachers'

The Jadavpur University Teachers' Association (JUTA) on Thursday organised a two-hour sit-in outside the varsity campus to protest against the attack on a colleague allegedly by BJP workers and vowed not to be "intimidated by saffron forces".

Around 100 JUTA members, accompanied by students and non-teaching staff of the institute, took part in the demonstration which also condemned the threat to another JU teacher on social media, purportedly by a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) member, on Wednesday for expressing solidarity with those raising their voice against the amended Citizenship Act and proposed nationwide NRC.

Teachers of various faculties of the JU unanimously voiced their concern against "the intimidatory tactics by saffron forces to muzzle democratic protests", JUTA General Secretary Parthapratim Roy said.

The teachers will continue to raise their voices against any effort to curb freedom of expression, he said.

Roy said the sit-in was initially planned to condemn the attack on Doyeeta Majumder, assistant professor of the English department, allegedly by a few women activists of the BJP near the campus on December 30.

Majumder was allegedly roughed up when she protested against the 'disparaging remarks' against the institute and a particular community at a BJP rally.

"Two days after this incident, on January 1 a teacher of Mass Communication department Swantan Chattopadhyay was threatened on Facebook messenger by a person who said Chattopadhyay was being identified for his stand on some contemporary issues. The message further said Chattopadhyay should keep in mind that time will change one day," Roy said.

The Facebook message was sent by someone, who is known as a leader of the BJP's youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuba Morcha, Roy claimed.

Majumder filed a complaint with the police for the attack on her and two of her students who had tried to save her. Chattopadhyay claimed to have forwarded the screenshots of the threat message to the Kolkata Police cyber crime cell.