#MeToo

#MenToo

NID

professor

Pradyumna

Naushad

Jamshyd Godrej

He was warned earlier too not to use sexual context in classroom. The enquiry committee had spoken to students at length before reaching the conclusion – Pradyumna Vyas, ex-NID director in whose tenure decision to sack Prof Mehta was taken

Months after National Institute of Design (NID) forced faculty member Krishnesh Mehta to resign over allegations of sexual harassment in October last year, students of 2017 batch and alumni have come out in support of him. Claiming the allegations and Mehta’s subsequent exit as a case of #MenToo, the students have demanded a free and fair probe into the incident and his reinstatement at the institute.Mehta was asked to resign after a few students raised #MeToo allegations against thefor having used sexual context out of syllabus in the classroom.Around 50 students of 2017 batch who were present in Prof Mehta’s class at the time of the alleged incident and alumni have written to NID’s governing council and newly appointed director Praveen Nahar stating that the incident was a “simple academic disagreement that was converted into a fake case of sexual harassment triggered by office politics”.Levelling charges of biased enquiry into the incident, the students claimed that the enquiry committee only spoke to couple of students before charging Prof Mehta guilty. They have now sought utmost neutrality with free and fair investigation into the matter. Terming the allegations against the former faculty member as baseless, they have demanded reinstatement of Prof Mehta.“We have studied in NID and know that there is no concept of a syllabus (but) only course abstracts because design derives from many disciplines and has no textbooks to be followed to be called a syllabus. How can anything taught in NID then be out of syllabus? We have studied the brightest and darkest aspects of human behaviour and society from Prof Mehta, and we know how it helps us each and every day,” stated the letter, a copy of which is with Mirror.The supporters mentioned that NID’s name has been sullied “and its people made a laughing stock of the nation due to the lies, deceit and dirty politics behind the so-called ‘termination’ of Prof Krishnesh Mehta”. “By conducting a biased and shameful investigation, and portraying inconsistent and outright false conclusions to the media about ‘out of syllabus’ references, ‘sexual innuendos’ and the ‘sacking’ of Prof Mehta, NID authorities have put us, the students and alumni of NID, in a deplorable position in front of the society, the industry and even our families. Why is NID misleading the public by telling such outrageous lies?”, the letter states.Students said that when students made allegations of sexual reference out of syllabus, around 100 students were present in the class. “We know as afact that one student complained because she misinterpreted the discussions about gender issues, but we feel that she too would not have felt that this was sexual harassment. Why is NID supporting such mishaps leading to further misunderstandings amongst the students community and then media channels?” ask the students in the letter. Raising concerns over the Inquiry Committee report, they have stated that NID authorities interviewed only three to four selected students out of more than 100 in such a way that their conclusion was reinforced.“What about interviewing the remaining 100+ students who were also in class? In the very class where more than 40 were girls, over 100 students supported Prof Mehta in the argument that was based on disagreement expressed by one person, that too we know was purely of academic nature and not even remotely connected to sexual harassment,” stated the letter. When the complaint was filed and Mehta was forced to resign, former directorVyas was in charge.Post his tenure, Vijai Singh Katiyar was made interim director. It was only recently that Nahar took charge as fulltime director. Meanwhile, chairman of governing council has also been replaced. Earlier,Forbes was chairman of NID’s governing council and now, MD and chairman of Godrej and Boyce, is the new chairman.When contacted, Nahar said he would not like to comment on the issue as he is yet to look into the matter. Sources on campus said that governing council at NID is expected to meet in the first week of July and the matter will be discussed in the meeting.Vyas however said that the students and alumni’s concerns are not valid as the inquiry committee had rigorously probed allegations in a systematic manner. “He was warned earlier too not to use sexual context in classroom. The enquiry committee had spoken to students at length before reaching the conclusion,” said Vyas, refuting allegation of inter-institute politics behind Mehta’s removal as a faculty member.Chairperson of the committee that probed alleged sexual harassment case, Shilpa Das said, “As far as the ICC-SH at NID is concerned, all due processes as per the POSH Act were followed in the inquiry and investigation. The case is closed and over.”Mehta said that he is currently occupied with final phase of his advanced studies. “I need to concentrate on that and so defer my comment till I am free and I am not aware of what the students are doing in this matter.”