Kozhikode: Deepa P. Mohanan, a research scholar from Kerala who has been on an indefinite hunger strike since October 29 protesting years of “caste discrimination” by her professor, ended her strike on Monday evening after her university accepted all her demands, including expulsion of the professor who allegedly harassed her for nearly a decade.
Dr Sabu Thomas, the vice chancellor of the Mahatma Gandhi University, has informed the protestors that he has “completely removed” Dr Nandakumar Kalarikkal from the International and Inter University Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (IIUCNN) of the university, where Mohanan is a PhD student. Mohanan has alleged years of discriminatory treatment and misuse of power by Kalarikkal.
Speaking to The Wire, Shyam Mohan, a Dalit rights activist and deputy chief of Bhim Army Kerala, said Mohanan has ended her hunger strike as “all of our demands have been accepted”. Mohanan’s hunger strike was coordinated by young activists from Bhim Army Kerala.
Anuraji, national vice president of the Bhim Army, told The Wire that the protestors were invited for a meeting with the vice chancellor on Monday, and that all their demands were accepted at the meeting. “We presented our demands, including the expulsion of Dr Nandakumar Kalarikkal from the institute. The vice chancellor accepted all the demands,” she said.
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The Wire has seen a written document – written in Malayalam and signed by the vice chancellor – that said “Dr. Nandakumar Kalarikkal has been completely removed from IIUCNN”.
The VC also promised that Mohanan will be “timely provided all the materials required for her research” and that the university “will take measures” to restore her research fellowship, which is currently blocked.
Protestors outside the university before the hunger strike was called off on Monday evening. Photo: Facebook/Bhim Army Kerala
Shyam Mohan said “this is a victory for all our brothers and sisters who have been fighting casteism at different universities”. Amid “Jai Bhim” and other sloganeering in the background, he also said “this is a victory of all those who upholds democratic, constitutional values. Because caste discrimination is both undemocratic and unconstitutional.”
In its earlier attempt to end Mohanan’s protest, the university administration had removed Kalarikkal from the director’s post of the IIUCNN. However, Mohanan and her supporters insisted on the complete expulsion of the controversial professor from the institute. Her protest, which she has called a “fight against caste discrimination” at her institute, has attracted media attention and support from various corners, including lawmakers and opposition political parties. She vowed to continue her hunger strike until Kalarikkal is expelled.
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Mohanan, who is also a mother, alleged that she could not progress with her research because of Kalarikkal’s hostile actions. She has been a researcher at the IIUCNN since March 2011, when she joined there as an MPhil candidate. After completing the course in April 2012, she joined the same department for a PhD two years later in 2014. Kalarikkal was joint director when Mohanan joined the institute.
Speaking to The Wire on Saturday, Mohanan said, “I have not been able to do my studies smoothly for the last 10 years.”
Mohanan’s complaints against Kalarikkal include allegations that she was denied opportunities to do projects at other institutes, to use the institute’s facilities for her research works, that her MPhil thesis was rejected, that she was intimidated before others, and that there was refusal to process her MPhil degree certificate and transfer certificate within time.
Mohanan has also alleged that Kalarikkal even once locked her inside the physics department, which houses the IIUCNN, in 2015.
Muhammed Sabith is a journalist and researcher. He can be reached at sabith.muhemmad@gmail.com.