A group of 88 academicians has demanded to reinstate Professor Tejaswini Desai, who was forced to go on leave last month for saying that rapists could belong to any religion.
As per media reports, on June 8, the 52-year-old physics professor at the Kolhapur Institute of Technology’s College of Engineering had a discussion on religious discrimination in her class where some students had accused Muslims of “being rapists and never getting punished for their crimes.”
“Some students said Hindus never engaged in riots and Babri Masjid was demolished on the orders of the Supreme Court,” the prof told Newslaundry.
In response, Tejaswini Desai told the class that rape was not limited to any particular religion or community. “Rapists don’t have any religion or caste. It comes under the category of obvious crimes,” she had told the students.
The professor reportedly also spoke about powerful people who were accused of rape, including “Patils and Deshmukhs”, referring to historic titles given to village heads or territory holders.
Some students recorded the classroom discussion and seemingly edited the conversation to show Desai saying that “[Mughal emperor] Aurangzeb was good” and “Patil and Deshmukh were rapists”.
After the video went viral on social media, the college administration forced the professor to go on leave.
Desai has claimed that she never said the things shown in the video – and that it was edited and taken out of context.
She told Newslaundry that she came to know about the video only when the police came to the college for an inquiry.
The professor said that while the college authorities supported her, she was asked to apologize but she refused to do so.
“In 1943, my father-in-law, who was a freedom fighter, had played a part in destroying the statue of British governor Wilson, where a Shivaji statue was built,” she told Newslaundry. “Ironically, I was asked to issue an apology in front of the same statue,” Desai added.
According to Scroll, Desai has also filed a complaint with the police demanding action against those who edited the video and spread misinformation with the intention to “create a rift in the society”.
In their statement on the matter, the 88 academics urged the college authorities to allow Desai to return to work and ensure her safety.
“Her assertion that rapists can be from any community is borne out by the most superficial glance at newspaper reports,” the statement said.
Mohan Vanrott, the director of Kolhapur Institute of Technology told Newslaundry that the college has “formed a committee” to “investigate” what had happened.
Incidentally, in June this year, clashes had broken out between two groups in Kolhapur following a protest over WhatsApp statuses that allegedly ‘glorified’ Mughal emperor Tipu Sultan and 18th century Mysore ruler Aurangazeb.
