SRFTI says no to guest faculty charged with indecent behaviour

The Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) here will not invite anybody as guest faculty if there is a serious allegation of indecent behaviour against him, its director said Sunday.

The SRFTI Students' Association has accused a visiting faculty, who had come to the institute in early 2000, of "indecent and improper conduct".

SRFTI director Debamitra Mitra told PTI, "I received certain allegations and talked to many students over the issue, which occurred years ago. We will not let our students face any uncomfortable situation.

"We have decided not to invite a teacher who will fail to control his impulse or not conduct himself appropriately before the students."

SRFTI Students' Association president Nairita Guhathakurta said over the past few days, disturbing allegations against a visiting faculty of the institute "have come to the surface that the SRFTI Students' Association can no longer ignore".

 

The person, she said, had come to the institute in early 2000 as a visiting faculty and again last year.

"The allegations include instances of exposing his private parts to a group of first-year students, attempting to masturbate in front of them, participating in ragging in the past, verbally assaulting students and singing lewd songs...More and more allegations make their way to us every day," Guhathakurta said in a letter forwarded to the dean of students on October 17.

Casteist comments were also attributed to the visiting faculty member on one occasion, she added.

The dean, Ashoke Vishwanathan, in his written response to the students the next day, said, "It goes without saying that we will not invite any person who has crossed the boundary of decency more than once and that too, in SRFTI itself. I can only apologise for his being called again last year. We were obviously not alert enough..."

The students' association said, "We have a strong tradition of standing up to such abuses of power -- from the expulsion of three faculty members accused of sexual harassment and assault in 2015 to the student protest that resulted in the removal of the registrar in 2017...We are proud to carry on this tradition of protest by uninviting this person from SRFTI for workshops and student interactions."

Guhathakurta said the students' body unequivocally condemned casteism and sexism in all forms, adding, "People who subscribe to these ideas are not welcome in positions of power in SRFTI, pending a sincere apology from him and acceptance thereof of the people he has offended and hurt.