Prawesh Lama New Delhi, December 7, 2011 | UPDATED 11:18 IST
DU Dalit professor 'harassed' for SC quota reforms thesis
An assistant professor at Delhi University is being allegedly harassed
by fellow researchers to stop him from finishing his PhD from
Jawaharlal Nehru University on a controversial subject.
T. Srinivasa Rao, a Deshbandhu College faculty member, has claimed
some fellow students and social science department officials were
trying to stop him from pursuing his research. The research scholar,
who was heading the political science department in the college, is
working on the classification of Scheduled Castes in the reservation
system (like the category-based quota for the OBCs).
"My thesis focuses on the fact that only a handful of the nearly 730
Dalit sub-castes enjoy the reservation privileges. There should be
proper classification for the Scheduled Caste reservations, just like
they have for the OBCs," Rao said. On November 14, the laptop he had
purchased to store his written work was stolen from JNU's central
library. The Vasant Kunj (North) police have already registered a case
of theft in this connection.
According to the FIR, Rao was writing his thesis when he got up to
receive a phone call. "Within minutes, my laptop (an Apple Mac Book)
was stolen. I named two PhD students, who were present at the spot and
had earlier also complained against my using the library facilities,
but the police said the charges could not be verified since the
accused were girls. My complaint was not registered that day and I had
to leave the country the following day. It was only when I met the
area ACP after my return that the case was registered," Rao said.
Earlier, Rao's manuscripts were stolen in June and then again in July.
"I had already spent two months writing the thesis manuscript when it
was stolen in June," Rao said. He filed a complaint with the library
administration in this case too.
The July incident also happened in the central library. "I used to
keep my handwritten manuscripts at the same place as the other
students. But when I went to the library the next morning, the
manuscript was missing. There are CCTV cameras inside the library but
they told me these were not working. This is why I had bought a
laptop… but that also has now been stolen. I am a Dalit working on
the thesis but there are some persons, including a Dalit girl, who
don't want me to work on it," Rao claimed.
When Mail Today spoke to DCP (South) Chhaya Sharma regarding the lost
manuscripts and laptop theft from the library, she said she wasn't
aware of the case.
The JNU administration has ordered a general inquiry into the thefts
at the library. Vice-chancellor S. K. Sopory said: "The assistant
professor has shared his problem with me. It is only his perception
that the thefts and other problems result from the thesis he is
working on… I can't comment on it. Regarding the thefts at the
library, I have ordered an inquiry. The librarian has been told to
look into the theft."
Rao said he had been the victim of a hit-and-run case on the JNU
campus even in 2006. "Despite the presence of security guards, the
offending scooter was not stopped. The police too have not been able
to arrest anyone in this regard," he added. Rao was registered as a
PhD work student in 2003, but got deregistered four years later while
still working at the Deshbandhu College.
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