Prof threatens to move HC over ‘victimization’

Vadodara: After waiting for nearly 12 years, professor Shivaji Panikkar who was in the centre of the ‘obscenity row’ that had hit Faculty of Fine Arts in May 2007, has come out in open against the MSU administration.
Panikkar was the acting dean when artist Chandra Mohan as a student had prepared artworks that allegedly hurting religious sentiments. The teacher, who is under suspension, only recently came to know that the university has decided to permanently withhold all his financial dues or retirement benefits.

Terming the university’s decision, completely vindictive, Panikkar said that the inquiry committee appointed by the university has not even considered the witnesses presented by him.

The decision taken by the university was recently conveyed to the dean of Faculty of Fine Arts but not to Panikkar, who is presently working with the School of Culture and Creative Expressions at Ambedkar University, Delhi.

"Professor Panikkar is found guilty in the departmental inquiry report by inquiry officer K K Vaishya, retired district judge in the case of exhibition of artefacts of Gods and Goddess for public display at Faculty of Fine Arts in May 2007 created and caused communal disharmony in the society under the provision of O. 215 A, his all financial dues or retirement benefits if any with the university be withheld permanently,” the university’s letter states.

Panikkar said all this years he kept silent hoping that he would get justice. “But this is totally unfair,” he said questioning whether the university wants him to turn into a beggar at the time when he has reached 65.

“Despite reminders, I am not even given my last pay certificate,” said Panikkar, “I am left with no choice but to approach Gujarat High Court or university tribunal.”

Stressing that the right-wing managed university right from the beginning is working with malafide intentions, Panikkar said that the fact remains that Chandra Mohan had prepared the artefacts for the annual examination display in which no outsider was invited.

“It was Niraj Jain who had barged into the faculty. I was supporting the faculty’s position that its autonomy and freedom of expression was being attacked,” he said.

“Statements of none of the 13 witnesses including Chandra Mohan have been considered even as everybody asserted that it was an examination, an internal process of the faculty in which Jain had barged in,” he said.

After the obscenity row, Panikkar, had decided to support a decision taken by students of the faculty to put up an exhibition dealing with the long history of erotica in both Indian and Western art. He however faced ‘disciplinary action’ after he refused to abide by the directives of the then university officials to close down the exhibition and was later suspended.