STOP HARASSMENT OF DR RAJSHREE RANAWAT, STOP MEDIA CAMPAIGN AGAINST HER AND REVOKE HER SUSPENSION

It is extremely disturbing that Dr. Rajashree Ranawat, Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur, has been suspended by her university for having supposedly “disobeyed” the orders of the university.  The suspension letter does not mention which orders she has not obeyed.

It can therefore be concluded that Dr. Ranawat is being punished for having invited Prof. Nivedita Menon as a speaker in an academic conference which had academics and civil society workers from different disciplinary and ideological backgrounds participating in it. The conference was very successful with students and teachers interacting with outstation scholars in a free atmosphere. After its conclusion, a nasty campaign was launched by some newspapers that Prof Ranawat as organiser had provided a platform to a “controversial” person like Prof. Menon who used the occasion to malign the image of Indian soldiers, questioned the accession of Kashmir to India and insulted the integrity of India by inverting its map.

The news reports all quote just one person who was present at the lecture, who had got into an argument with Prof Menon, and who later misreported and distorted to the media what was actually said and meant. For example, a map cannot be “inverted” because the globe is round, which was precisely the point of the speaker. Prof Menon has since then written about the points made in her lecture and it is clear that the news reports are either downright false or misleading.

Regretfully, the University authorities, instead of defending their employee and colleague who was responsible for making this huge conference a success, caved in to the pressure of the goonda elements and went to the extent of filing police complaints against Prof Menon and Dr. Ranawat.

Agitation by ABVP and other such elements started in and around the campus against Dr. Ranawat and the pressure on Dr Ranawat was so great that she felt unsafe in her campus accommodation in which she lives by herself.

It is quite inexplicable that the university authorities instituted an internal enquiry to find out the facts after having lodged police complaints against Dr. Ranawat. This act, in itself shows that the authorities had reached a conclusion even before knowing the facts.

Dr. Ranawat was in regular correspondence with the police and the internal committee. It is clear from her letter to them she was ready to present herself before the committee with all the relevant documents. Her only request was that in view of the hateful and violent campaign against her, she should be ensured security to make her movement possible.

The callous response of the committee to her legitimate request for security has shocked us. That a woman employee is denied security even in the light of the evident threat before her raises questions about the sensitivity of the university authority in this regard.

Her inability to appear before the committee in the absence of security has been taken as an act of disobedience. The hurry in which a special meeting of the highest body of the university was called only to deliberate on the report of the committee is also disturbing. That it decided to suspend Dr. Ranawat based on only the interim report is again a travesty of justice.

The harassment that Dr. Ranawat is facing at the hands of her university authorities is a matter of great concern for all of us who are interested in young bright minds joining the teaching profession. If this is the fate of a young scholar who performs her duty of exposing her students to the excellent minds in the field of scholarship, then a person like her would think twice before joining a university in India.

We are utterly dismayed by the role played by the media. It published totally concocted, tendentious reports and in fact led a campaign against Dr. Ranawat and Prof. Menon. It is a fact that none of the newspapers had their reporters in the conference and yet they kept writing about the deliberation in the conference citing just the one person who was clearly politically motivated. They did not bother to verify their information with Dr. Ranawat or with anybody else present at the event.

We are concerned that even a responsible and respected newspaper like the Rajasthan Patrika has published an extremely insensitive report carrying the photograph of Dr. Ranawat alongside those of criminals who are accused of crimes like rape and corruption and are evading law or absconding, claiming that she belongs to this category.

This vicious campaign against Dr. Rajshree Ranawat must stop immediately. The university authorities must revoke her suspension and make all efforts to make her feel secure.

We also call upon our colleagues and students in Jai Narain Vyas University and other universities of Rajasthan and in the larger academic community to speak up for Dr. Ranawat and the larger cause of academic freedom which is under severe stress in India.

Signed:

1. Apoorvanand, Professor, Dept of Hindi, University of Delhi
2. Satish Deshpande, Professor, University of Delhi
3. Sohail Hashmi Writer Film Maker Delhi
4. Dhruv Narayan Managing Editor Daanish Books
5. Achin Vanaik, Former Professor, Dept of Political Science, University of Delhi
6. Ania Loomba, Professor, English Dept, University of Pennsylvania, USA
7. Aditya Nigam, Professor, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi
8. Himanshu Pandya, Dept of Hindi, ABP Rajakiya Mahavidyalay, Dungarpur, Rajasthan
9. Mohan Shrotriya, Retired college teacher, Jaipur, Rajasthan
10. Kanak Tiwari, Senior Advocate, Chhattisgarh High Court, Bilaspur
11. Jayati Ghosh, Professor, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, JNU
12. Anand Teltumbde, Professor, Goa Institute of Management, Goa
13. Uma Chakravarty, Historian, Delhi
14. Anand Chakravarty, Sociologist, Delhi
15. Nandini Sundar, Professor, Dept of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University
16. Suvir Kaul, A.M. Rosenthal Professor, Dept of English, University of Pennsylvania, USA
17. Udaya Kumar, Professor, Centre for English Studies, JNU
18. Dilip Menon, Professor, Centre for Indian Studies in Africa, University of Witswatersand, Johannesburg
19. Suren Pillai, Centre for Humanities Research, University of Western Cape, South Africa
20. Shireen Hassim Political Studies, University of Witswatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
21. Srirupa Roy, Professor, Centre for Modern Indian Studies, University of Gottingen, Germany
22. Dr Rashmi Varma Dept of English and Comparative Literary Studies, University of Warwick, UK
23. P.K. Datta, Professor, Centre for Comparative Politics and Political Thought, JNU
24. Pritam Singh Professor of Economics, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
25. Vinay Gidwani, Professor, Geography and Global Studies, University of Minnesota, USA
26. Anandhi Shanmugasundaram, Professor, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai
27. Shohini Ghosh, Professor, AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Milia Islamia
28. Tarangini Sriraman, Assistant Professor, Azim Premji University, Bangalore
29. Jinee Lokaneeta, Drew University, USA
30. Harsh Mander, Activist, Delhi
31. Harjinder Singh ‘Laltu’, Poet and Faculty member, IIIT, Hyderbad
32. Kamal Mitra Chenoy, Professor, Centre for Comparative Politics and Political Thought, JNU
33. Dr Priyamvada Gopal, Facullty of English, University of Cambridge, UK
34. Roma Dey, Ph D Scholar, JNU
35. Anand Vivek Taneja, Assistant Professor, Religious Studies and Anthropology, Vanderbilt University
36. Moinak Biswas, Professor Film Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
37. Janaki Srinivasan, Assistant Professor, Panjab University, Chandigarh
38. Eleanor Newbigin, Senior, lecturer, History department, SOAS, University of London
39. Monobina Gupta, Journalist, Delhi
40. Prasanta Chakravarty, Dept of English, University of Delhi
41. Mukulika Banerjee Director, South Asia Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK
42. Naveen Chander, Fellow, IGK Work and Human Life Cycle, Humboldt University
43. Sanjeeb Mukherjee, Political scientist, formerly with Calcutta University
44. Hilal Ahmed, Associate Professor, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi
45. Debaditya Bhattacharya, Assistant Professor, Nivedita College, University of Calcutta
46. Naveen Gaur, Dayal Singh College, Delhi University
47. Rajnikant Mudgal, former President, Hindustan Times Employees Union, Delhi
48. Jai Sen, CACIM – India Institute for Critical Action, New Delhi
49. Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Artist, Raqs Media Collective, Delhi
50. Prakash Upadhyay, Senior Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library
51. Nandita Narain, Associate Professor, University of Delhi
52. Rana Behal, Associate Professor of History (retd), Deshbandhu College, University if Delhi
53. Pallav, Hindu College, University of Delhi
54. Suki Iyer, Dsiturbed Citizen at large, Entrepreneur
55. Chamarthi Sadasiva, Associate Professor, Botany, Dayal Singh College, Delhi University
56. Shobhana Warrier, Associate Professor, Hansraj College, Delhi University
57. Dr C.P. Geevan, Independent Researcher, Centre for Environment and Social Concerns, Ahmedabad
58. Dr Mohan Rao, Professor, Centre for Community Health and Social Medicine, JNU
59. Lalit Batra, Research Scholar, University of Minnesota, USA
60. Rohit De, Assistant Professor, Dept of History, Yale University, USA
61. Aniruddh Deshpande, Professor, Dept of History, Delhi University
62. Amar Kanwar, Film maker
63. Aftab Alam, Assistant Professor, Zakir Husain Delhi College, University of Delhi
64. Admiral L. Ramdas, Former Chief of Indian Navy, Magsaysay Awardee for Peace, Gaurav Puruskar [Maharashtra Govt], Alibag, India
65. Lalita Ramdas, Activist, Alibag
66. Rohit Prajapati, Activist, Gujarat
67. Manjari Katju, Associate Professor, Dept of History, University of Hyderabad
68. Sandeep Meel, Writer and Research scholar, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur
69. Amitesh, Researcher, Delhi
70. Subhash Gatade, Activist and writer, Delhi
71. Sujata Madhok, Journalist, Delhi
72. Roger Alexander, Journalist, Jaipur, Rajasthan
73. Pamela Philipose, Journalist, Delhi
74. Devendra Kumar Bishnoi, Ph. D scholar, University of Hyderabad
75. Dharmaraj Kumar, Research scholar, JNU
76. I. Ahmed, Theatre activist, Jeevit Mati Kisan Samiti
77. Mukul Sharma, Professor, Indian Institute of Mass Communication
78. Sadan Jha, Associate Professor, Centre for Social Studies, Surat, Gujarat
79. Arundhati Ghosh, Executive Director, India Foundation for the Arts
80. Rajshree Chandra, Associate Professor, University of Delhi
81. Bindu K.C., Associate Professor, Ambedkar University Delhi
82. Naren Singh Rao, former Academic Associate, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi
83. Rukmini Sen, Associate Professor, School of Liberal Studies, Ambedkar University, Delhi
84. Sandhya, Social Activist, Stree Mukti Sangathan, Allahabad
85. Selvyn Jussy, Professor, Dept of Linguistics, Calcutta University
86. Radhika Menon, Academic, Delhi Teachers Initiative
87. Ashish Kothari, Environmentalist, Pune
88. Chandan Gowda, Associate Professor, Azim Premji University, Bangalore
89. Bhupendra Yadav, Professor, Azim Premji University, Bangalore
90. Anupama Rao, Associate Professor, History, Barnard College, Columbia University
91. J. Devika, Associate Professor, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram
92. Manas Ray, Professor, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
93. Purushottam Agrawal, former professor, JNU and writer
94. K. Satyanarayana, Professor, English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad
95. Vipin Kumar Chirakkara, Associate Professor, English and Foreign Languages University, Lucknow Campus
96. Ajay Skaria, Professor, University of Minnesota, USA
97. Shivani Nag, Academic, Delhi Teachers Initiative
98. Ayesha Kidwai, JNU
99. Kalyani Menon-Sen, Feminist Learning Partnerships
100. Anuradha Banerji, Ambedkar University, Delhi.
101. Susie Tharu, Formerly Professor, English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad
102. Shraddha Chickerur, Phd candidate, University of Hyderabad
103. Virginia Saldanha, Activist, Mumbai
104. Parthasarathi Muthukkaruppan, Assistant Professor, The English And Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad
105. Neha Naqvi, Lawyer, New Delhi, India
106. Sherin B.S. Assistant Professor, The English and Foreign Languages University
107. Bindhulakshmi P, Advanced Centre for Women’s Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
108. Satish Poduval, Professor, English & Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad
109. Disha Nawani, TISS, Mumbai
110. Lalitha Kamath, School of Habitat Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
111. Nandini Manjrekar, TISS Mumbai
112. Shilpa Phadke, School of Media and Cultural Studies, TISS, Mumbai
113. Faiz Ullah, School of Media and Cultural Studies, TISS, Mumbai
114. Janet Sunita, New Delhi
115. Prabha Nagaraja, New Delhi
116. M. Madhava Prasad, EFL University, Hyderabad
117. Urvashi Butalia, Zubaan Publishers Pvt Ltd.
118. Sujata Patel, University of Hyderabad
119. Geeta Seshu, independent Journalist, Mumbai
120. Kamayani Bali Mahbal, Human Rights activist, Mumbai
121. Madhu Bhushan, Independent activist, Bangalore
122. Brinda Bose, Centre for English Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
123. Rohini Hensman, independent scholar, Mumbai
124. Renuka Mishra, Activist.
125. Vasudha Mohanka, Doctoral Scholar, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong, Australia
126. Uma Bhrugubanda, EFL University, Hyderabad
127. Saheli Women’s Resource Centre, New Delhi
128. Ilina Sen,Professor, TISS, Mumbai
129. Radhika Desai, Independent Gender and Livelihoods Researcher, Hyderabad
130. A.Suneetha, Anveshi RCWS, Hyderabad
131. Chhaya Datar, Former Professor TISS, Mumbai
132. Jhuma Sen, O.P. Jindal Global University
133. Nisha Biswas, Scientist and activist, Kolkata
134. Sadhna Arya, DU
135. Suroor Mander, Advocate
136. Niharika Banerjea, Associate Professor, School of Liberal Studies, Ambedkar University, Delhi
137. Shiny Saha, Researcher, New Delhi
138. Svati Joshi, Delhi University
139. Richa Minocha, Jan Abhiyan Sanstha, Shimla
140. Nandita Dhawan, School of Women’s Studies, Jadavpur University
141. Neha Gupta, Activist, Thailand
142. Laxmi Murthy, Journalist, Bangalore
143. Malika Virdi, Activist, Uttarakhand
144. Forum Against Oppression of Women, Bombay
145. Ankita Pandey, Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi University
146. Sheetal Sharma, North East Network, Assam
147. Urvija Priyadarshini, Doctoral Scholar, University of Hyderabad
148. S. Maya, Sree Kerala Varma College
149. Abha Bhaiya, feminist activist, Delhi
150. LABIA – A Queer Feminist LBT Collective, Mumbai.
151. Ritu Dewan, President, Indian Association for Women’s Studies
152. Neha Reddy, Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Scholar
153. Panchali Ray.  School of Women’s Studies.  Jadavpur University.
154. Kochurani Abraham, Feminist Theologian, Kerala
155. Vimala Ramachandran, Former Professor, NUEPA New Delhi
156. Prof Anita Ghai, Ambedkar University
157. Urfat Anjem Mir, Faculty, Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD)
158. Biswajit K Bora, Dept of English, Shyama Prasad Mukherji College (for Women), Delhi
159. Dr.Rajan Kurai Krishnan, Associate Professor, Ambedkar University Delhi
160. Vebhuti Duggal, Research Associate, Sarai-CSDS
161. Anjali Monteiro, Professor, TISS
162. K.P. Jayasankar, Professor, TISS
163. Renu Gupta, Professional, Vishakhapatnam
164. Abhijit Roy, Professor, Department of Film Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
165. Dr Sanjay Kumar, St Stephen’s College, Delhi University
166. Mohinder Singh, SIS/ JNU, Delhi
167. Manindra Thakur, CPS, JNU, Delhi
168. Khalid Anis Ansari, Director ACESTA, Glocal University, Saharanpur
169. Shail Mayaram, Professor, CSDS, Delhi
170. Rina Ramdev, Associate Professor, University of Delhi
171. Sudakshina Ghosh, Associate Professor, University of Calcutta
172. Sutapa Mukhopadhyay, Assistant Professor, University of Calcutta
173. Piyalee Dash Sharma, Assistant Professor, University of Calcutta
174. Arpita Sengupta Sadhu, Assistant Professor, University of Calcutta
175. Nilanjana Sen, Assistant Professor, University of Calcutta
176. Akanksha , Co-founder of Sappho for Equality, Kolkata
177. Srabasti Majumdar, Research Scholar, School of Women’s Studies, Jadavpur University
178. Ashish Srivastav, Filmmaker, Delhi
179. Shipra Nigam, independent researcher, New Delhi
180. Tanuja Kothiyal, Associate Professor in History, School of Liberal Studies, Ambedkar University
181. Ashok Lal, Poet and Writer
182. Shubhneet Kaushik, Research scholar, JNU
183. Ish Mishra, Associate Professor, Hindu College, University of Delhi
184. Sumita, queer feminist activist, Kolkata
185. Imtiaz Ahmad, retd professor, JNU
186. John Dayal, former journalist, Delhi
187. Sukanta Chaudhuri, Professor Emeritus, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
188. Siddhant Kalra, Writer, Delhi
189. Valay Singh, Journalist, Delhi
190. Aban Raza, an artist based in Delhi
191. Gopalji Pradhan, Professor, School of Liberal Studies, AUD and Convenor Delhi Teachers’ Initiative
192. Anil Rai, Economist and Urban Specialist, New Delhi
193. Dr Saif Mahmood, Advocate, Supreme Court of India
194. Sneha Banerjee, Researcher, Delhi
195. Sudha Vasan, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Delhi, Delhi
196. Shikha Sen, Documentary Editor
197. Paramita Banerjee, Researcher, Trainer, Writer, Kolkata
198. Surajit Sarkar, Ambedkar University Delhi
199. Dipa Sinha, Assistant Professor, Ambedkar University, Delhi
200. Sayandeb Chowdhury, Assistant Professor, School of Liberal Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi
201. Prajval Shastri, Professor, Indian Institute of Astrophysics
202. Anita Cherian, Associate Professor, SCCE, Ambedkar University Delhi
203. Mamatha Karollil, Ambedkar University Delhi
204. Dr Mukesh Garg, Founder Director ‘Sangeet Sankalp’, Music Critic & Musicologist,
205. Anjali Raina , Paediatrician, Delhi
206. Franson Manjali, Professor, JNU
207. Rachana Johri, Dept of Psychology, AUD
208. Ena Panda, Asst Professor, Dept. Of Germanic and Romance Studies
209. Rajiv Gupta, Former Professor and head, Dept of Sociology, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur
210. Ramachandra Guha, historian, Bangalore
211. Arshad Ajmal, Activist, Patna, Bihar
212. Ajaz Ashraf, Journalist, Delhi
213. Anamika Priyadarshini, Assistant Professor, Council for Social Development,
214. Ashok Jha, CSD, Delhi
215. Ashutosh Kumar, DU
216. Antora Borah, PhD Student, Department of Sociology, DU
217. Alok Rai, formerly of the English Dept, D.U.
218. Chayanika Uniyal, Assistant Professor, DU
219. Biswajit K Bora, Dept of English, Shyama Prasad Mukherji College, Delhi
220. Preeti Sampat, Assistant Professor, AUD
221. Chaman Lal, JNU
222. Om Thanvi, former editor, Jansatta
223. Manoj Mitta, Journalist and Author
224. Amit Sengupta, journalist
225. Purwa Bharadwaj
226. Vandana Rag, Writer, Delhi
227. Shabnam Hashmi, ANHAD
228. Kavita Krishnan, Secretary, AIPWA
229. Komal Srivastava, Jaipur
230. Neeraj Jain, Lokayat and Socialist Party (India)
231. Mahtab Alam, activist and writer, Bangalore/Delhi
232. Nasiruddin – Journalist- Lucknow
233. Jyoti Punwani, journalist, Mumbai.
234. Ravichandran, Fellow, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla
235. Sanjay Palshikar, Professor, University of Hyderabad
236. Annie Zaidi, Journalist, Mumbai
237. Subir Sinha, Development Studies, SOAS
238. Francesca Orsini, Professor of Hindi and South Asian Literature,SOAS
239. Jigna Desai Professor, Univ. of Minnesota
240. Rochelle Pinto, Academic, formerly with University of Delhi
241. Kavita Panjabi, Professor, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
242. Dilip Simeon, Independent scholar, Delhi
243. Nithila Kanagasabai, School of Media and Cultural Studies, TISS, Mumbai
244. Kashinath Chatterjee, BGVS

245. Sirisha Naidu, Associate Professor, Wright State University, USA

246. Rimple Mehta, Assistant Professor, School of Women’s Studies, Jadavpur University
247. Geetanjali Gangoli, Senior Lecturer, University of Bristol
248. Nikhil Titus, PhD Student, University of Pittsburgh, USA
249. Gautam Mody, New Trade Union Initiative
250. Tejaswa, Lingnan University, Hong Kong
251. Asha Mishra, BGVS
252. Nandini Rao, activist, Delhi
253. Farah Naqvi, Independent Writer and Activist, Delhi
254. Veronica George, Consultant- Corporate Social Responsibility, Gurgaon

     255. Papori Bora, JNU

     256.Dolly Daftary, Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Boston

     257. Sangeeta Chatterji, PhD Candidate, Rutgers University

     258. Mary E John, Centre for Women’s Development Studies, New Delhi

     259. Asma Rasheed, Assistant Professor, EFL University, Hyderabad

     260. Adv Mini Mathew

     261. Jashodhara Dasgupta, Senior Adviser, SAHAYOG Lucknow

     262. Madhusree Dutta, Filmmaker

     263. Anannya Bhattacharjee, Activist

     264. Aruna Burte, freelance writer

     265. Arundhati Dhuru NAPM

     266. Neha Dixit, Journalist

     267. Indira Jaising, Lawyers  Collective

     268. Jayasree Subramanian, TISS, Hyderabad

     269.  Kiran Shaheen, Memoirist and Activist, People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism and WSS

     270. Rachana Johri, AUD

     271. Swayam, Kolkata

     272.  Shoba Ghosh, University of Mumbai

     273. Nilanjana Sengupta, Director, Research and Advocacy, Azad Foundation, New Delhi.

     274. Shewli, Tata Institute of Social Sciences,Mumbai

     275.Radhika Chandiramani, Clinical Psychologist, New Delhi

      276. Veena Poonacha. Retd. Director, Research Centre for Women’s Studies, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai

     277. Esther, The YP Foundation

     278. sujata gothoskar, activist, Mumbai

     279. Zeba Imam, Assistant Professor, TISS, Mumbai

     280. Rituparna Borah, Delhi

     281. A Mani, University of Calcutta

     282. Bishakha Datta, Point of View

     283. Bittu Karthik

     284. Sejal Dand, Gujarat

     285. Neeta Hardikar

     286. Lokesh Sharma, Research scholar, Delhi University

     287. Sunalini Kumar, Associate Professor, Delhi University

     288. Nazima Parveen, Research scholar, Victoria University of Wellington

     289. Ujjwal Kumar Singh, University of Delhi

     290. Ranjani Mazumdar, SAA, JNU

     291. Nirmalangshu Mukherjee, formerly of Dept of Philosophy, Delhi University

     292. Jayaprakash N.D., Activist, New Delhi

     293. Vidyadhar Date, Journalist

     294. Ramdas Puthesseri, Teacher, Kerala

     295. Nandita Banerjee, JNU

     296. Swagata Basu, IGNOU

     297. Miriam Chandy Menacherry, Film maker and journalist

     298. Sushil Khanna, IIM, Kolkata

     299. Basant Jaitly, Professor, formerly Head of Sanskrit Dept, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur