According to students, they have so far made 11 complaints against the Registrar, the first time by a 2015-batch student last month.
Students of Kolkata’s Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) have demanded the resignation of the institute’s Registrar, accusing him of passing sexist and casteist remarks against them. The Registrar, B D M Ambedkar, has refuted the allegations. SRFTI Director Debamitra Mitra, while speaking to the indianexpress.com, admitted to having received a complaint from the students seeking the Registrar’s resignation. She has, however, not set up any inquiry committee. “The registrar was appointed by the Information & Broadcast Ministry, I have forwarded all the complaints to the ministry, let them decide,” she said, adding she has asked Ambedkar to leave the campus after completion of his tenure.
According to students, they have so far made 11 complaints against the Registrar, the first time by a 2015-batch student last month.
One of the students of SRFTI, who allegedly faced harassment along with a friend at the hands of the Registrar, said, “When we went to the Registrar’s office with a problem, he abused us with words like ‘darky’ and called us ‘vanity products’.
Excerpts of complaints made to the director against the Registrar:
• The father and brother of a sick woman student were not allowed to help in shifting in spite of requesting, again and again, the reason allegedly cited by the Registrar was that the father might look at the other girls of the Institute in an inappropriate way.
• According to the complaint, the Registrar allegedly said that a dark-skinned girl would need more time to shift since she carries bags of products to be fair. He also allegedly said she would provide girls with whatever they need, like extra coolers or refrigerator, since the girls need to keep their nail polishes and make-up kits in the fridge.
• The Registrar allegedly threatened a female student saying that “if you don’t follow my orders, I will kill you and replace you with my daughter. Even though your mother won’t encourage this, your father will readily accept a new daughter who earns.”
• During the meeting, the Registrar allegedly repeatedly insisted that a female student specifically should not have a “say” in a particular matter since she is a “woman”. He even tried to ridicule and mock the girl’s concerns.
Meanwhile, talking to indianexpress.com, registrar Ambedkar termed all the allegations as baseless, saying, “I have not made any sexist or casteist comments. It’s a treachery going against me and some other administrative officials as we are not from the institute. I am ready for any kind of inquiry.”
