A note by a Kerala professor, 28-year-old R Ranjith hailing from a Scheduled Tribe in Kerala’s Kasaragod district, on how he beat the social and financial odds to secure the post of Assistant Professor in the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ranchi recently went viral on social media. While appreciation pours in for his inspiring achievement, Ranjith has revealed that he was not posted to Calicut University despite scoring a top rank. Many have also taken to social media posing questions on why the youth was denied the appointment.
Kerala’s Finance Minister Dr Thomas Isaac, who wrote a Facebook note wishing Ranjith on his success, also faced netizens’ wrath with many commenting to hold him answerable for Ranjith not being appointed to Calicut University.
Ranjith had secured the fourth rank for the post of Assistant Professor in Calicut University. According to him, though there were four vacancies, only three have been filled so far and one is still lying vacant.
“When the notification for the post was published, the university said there were four vacancies. When I got the 4th rank, I expected I’d be posted. I had performed well in the interview and have publications to my name too. But I don’t know why, only three were appointed and I was not. The fourth post is still vacant,” Ranjith told Asianet News.
He added that the university has not published the reservation roster, which shows the number of seats allotted as per reservation. “The issue of not publishing the reservation roster is still continuing to be a controversy,” he added.
Ranjith also stated that issues like these should not be allowed to happen in academic institutions. “No discrepancies should happen in academic institutions. It’s from here that future generations come out. If they think I was qualified, they should have given the posting,” he added. The rank list was published by the university in January.
Incidentally, among the 35 candidates in the rank list, Ranjith is the only Scheduled Tribe candidate.
The university has been under the scanner over alleged discrepancies in faculty appointments and criticised for not publishing reservation details while publishing the notification. Last year, an applicant had moved the Kerala HC against this. In January this year, though the university reportedly decided to publish the reservation roster, it didn’t comply with this.
‘Why was Ranjith denied posting?’
When Minister Thomas Isaac took to social media to hail Ranjith’s achievement, he faced a backlash with many questioning the Minister on why the youth was not appointed to Calicut University.
Writer and social activist K Santhosh Kumar criticised the Minister stating that what happened was structural caste exclusion.
“Ignoring qualified scholars like Ranjith, many ‘party qualified’ people were appointed. A case was filed against these appointments in the Kerala High Court by Muslim League syndicate member Dr PM Rasheed Ahammad. The university told the court that the reservation roster is confidential and cannot be handed over. What nonsense is this,” Santhosh Kumar wrote.
What the university is doing is not double standards but structural caste exclusion, he added.
Meanwhile, many social media users also commented on the Minister’s Facebook post and criticised him.
“He secured fourth rank in the Calicut University rank list but he was denied posting. Can you give the reason for this?” a user wrote.
Another user asked, “Comrade, does the government or you have any explanation about why a talented person like Ranjith was denied posting?”