Two recent incidents at India's prestigious higher educational institutions reveal a dismal reality: regarding caste harassment and sexual repression. Not only have we failed to make progress in recent years, but it appears that we are regressing. The authorities running these institutions are complicit in this regression, and these cases illustrate the deep-rooted issues we still face.

A few weeks ago, a state-appointed committee in Karnataka investigated the caste harassment of a Dalit faculty member at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB). The committee found that the Director, along with seven senior professors, were responsible for the systematic harassment of the Dalit associate professor. According to the professor's complaint, his caste was deliberately revealed and publicized, which led to denied opportunities and constant mental harassment. In response, the institute denied the allegations against its leadership and claimed that it had supported the Dalit professor throughout his tenure. The authorities went as far as to assert that complaints from students about the Dalit professor had prompted them to act. The matter has now reached the Karnataka High Court, which has stayed the FIR against the Director and others until further notice.

This incident at a prestigious institution is a........

© Free Press Journal