To,

Prof. Virendra Kumar Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur
Mr Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Minister of Minority Affairs
Mr. Ramesh Pokhriyal, Minister of Education 
 

Trigger warning: Caste-based discrimination, Abuse and Bullying

UPDATE: 27 April 2021

After three days of building pressure, the professor has apologized over email saying that it was not her intention to hurt people and that it was caused by the stress she has gone through because of COVID.

However, nothing justifies calling students "bl**dy bas*ards" and threatening them with dire consequences--COVID and mental health issues are no excuse for abusive and casteist behaviour. 

This was an exhibition of the power and sway she holds within the Institute, and we need to treat it as such. Sign the petition and push the IIT administration, the Ministry of Minority Affairs as well as the Ministry of Education to take action.

Date: 24 April 2020

“Go to Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Minority Affairs -- nothing can prevent me from doing what I have to do to you, you bloody ba*tards”

--A Professor at IIT

Associate professor at IIT Kharagpur Seema Singh has openly abused students on record with casteist slurs during a Zoom meeting.

The meeting was a part of IIT's Preparatory course for SC/ST and PwD candidates. 

Students who are already under a lot of pressure because of the second wave of Covid, could not do much but nod and apologise after the teacher made these humiliating remarks.

This is outrageous.  

It is a time when people worldwide are grieving the loss of their loved ones and experiencing uncertainty about their own lives But instead of empathising, we see this professor yelling at the students, abusing them, trivialising their loss and threatening them.

What the professor did is a punishable crime under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

We demand:

 
- An immediate apology from Seema Singh for abusing her power and subjecting students to humiliation using casteist slurs.

- Termination on the grounds of abusing and threatening the students of repercussions if they speak up. 

- Booking the professor under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

- Setting up a permanent SC, ST and OBC Cell at IIT Kharagpur and all other IITs. 

Providing equal access to educational institutions without holding professors and administrative bodies accountable only increases the marginalisation of oppressed groups.

Let’s get together and ask the Ministry of Minority Affairs and the Ministry of Education to intervene and take action against the professor. 

Sources : 

On-Camera: IIT Kharagpur Prof Hurls ‘Casteist’ Abuses at Students - The Quint 

Shocking Incident in IIT Kharagpur where a Professor is openly abusing students on record - True Scoop TV