In Photos: Kalakshetra College Students in Chennai Protest Alleged Harassment

Apart from suspension of those accused, the students also seek a stop to body shaming at the institute.

While the institute's director Revathi Ramachandran has verbally promised to take action against the accused, the students told The Quint that they "will not move until they get a written statement."

(Photo: Soundarya Athimuthu/The Quint)

Hundreds of students and staff at Chennai’s Kalakshetra Foundation, have been protesting on the campus of Rukmini Devi College for Fine Arts since Thursday morning, 30 March, demanding the suspension of an assistant professor and three other senior dancers in light of sexual harassment allegations against them.

On Thursday morning, students boycotted the prayer meeting, held at the common prayer and meditation space under a banyan tree after the assistant professor against whom sexual harassment allegations have surfaced, entered the premises. The boycott was also done to register the students’ protest against the institute’s inaction over the allegations.

The Kalakshetra Foundation - an institute of national importance, directly funded by the Ministry of Culture, was on Wednesday, visited by National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma, who met with students on the campus.

Students also said that they have lost trust in Revathi Ramachandran, the director of Kalakshetra, to ensure justice.

Meanwhile, students have received a notice asking them to vacate their hostels, allegedly as a punishment for continuing to speak out against sexual harassment on campus. The students reiterate that they are not against Kalakshetra and that they are protesting only to ensure the accused are punished and no one in future batches is subject to such sexual abuse. 

While Kalakshetra has dismissed the allegations as rumours claiming that they were aimed at maligning the institute, the students have strongly disagreed and stated that there are several students who shared their experiences of being sexually harassed in anonymous posts on social media.

Police officials were called in the institute. They recorded interaction between students and the director of the institute, who has so far evaded questions about the sexual harrasment, as per the students.

Speaking to The Quint, a student from the foundation said, “We are here protesting against the sexual misconduct that happened here on campus. Our demands are very clear – we want the accused to be suspended and punished. It is our right to know what action will be taken against the accused. That is what we are demanding.”

While the Foundation had issued a gag order against speaking about the issue, in a note on its website, the students continue to stick to their demands.

Two other students told The Quint, "The demands are: immediate rustication of the faculty members. We also demand official acknowledgement of the students' council as a working body for the welfare of the students, and an immediate stop to the verbal harassment and body shaming at the Kalakshetra Foundation. A change of councillor at the institute is also needed as the students do not have the confidence to interact with the present councillor (director)."

With no resolution to their demands, the students plan to continue their protest.

Hundreds of students and staff at Chennai’s Kalakshetra Foundation, have been protesting on the campus of Rukmini Devi College for Fine Arts since Thursday morning, 30 March, demanding suspension of an assistant professor and three other senior dancers in light of sexual harassment allegations.

The Kalakshetra Foundation - an institute of national importance, directly funded by the Ministry of Culture, was on Wednesday, visited by National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma, who met with students on the campus.

On Thursday morning, students boycotted the prayer meeting, held at the common prayer and meditation space under a banyan tree after the assistant professor against whom sexual harassment allegations have surfaced, entered the premises.

The boycott was also done to register the students’ protest against the institute’s inaction over the allegations.

Speaking to The Quint, two students listed their demands:

• Immediate rustication of the accused faculty members

• Official acknowledgement of the students' council as a working body for the welfare of the students

• An immediate stop to the verbal harassment and body shaming at the Kalakshetra Foundation

• A change of councillor (director) at the institute as the students do not have the confidence to interact with the present councillor.

Meanwhile, addressing media and the protesting students, director Revathi Ramachandran said, "Students have complained today and given their oral representation so far. They have told me that they will submit a written complaint. We will take it into consideration and provide the right solution addressing the issue because our kids (students) at Kalakshetra are very important to us."

While Ramachandran has verbally promised to take action against the accused, the students told The Quint that they "will not move until they get a written statement (from the director)."