A civil rights group comprising academics from across the country has written an open letter to the SRM university in Chennai over the suspension of their faculty, Professor Lora Santhakumar, for expressing anti-war sentiments against the backdrop of India’s Operation Sindoor.
Academics for Democratic Right, in a letter dated Friday, June 6, expressed dismay at the university’s actions. The letter addressed to the Pro-Chancellor of SRM P Sathyanarayanan, said that it was surprising that the university had taken action against the professor for views expressed on her personal social media account, irrespective of whether the university subscribed to her views.
Lora Santhakumar, Assistant Professor at the SRM University’s Career Development Centre (CDC), was suspended on May 8 for expressing anti-war views on her WhatsApp status. Lora had been subjected to doxing by right wing handles on social media for her views. Doxing is a practice where a person’s personal information is made public online with the view of opening them up to harassment.
“We have also learnt that her most recent pay cheque is not even 50 percent of her current salary. This appears to violate The Tamil Nadu Payment Of Subsistence Allowance Act, 1981, which stipulates that a faculty member should be paid 50 percent salary while under suspension.” the letter stated.
“Her anti-war position was based on the observation that the victims of a war are primarily innocent civilians. These are principled views and it was courageous of Prof. Lora to express them in the current polarized atmosphere.” the letter said. The letter also expressed disapproval that the university had given in to right wing pressure including from ABVP.
The letter, signed by 12 academics from across the country, urged the university to take corrective measures and revoke the suspension.
The letter urged the university to cultivate an atmosphere where all members were free to express and discuss a range of ideas, both about education and about society
Lora’s statuses included messages like “All eyes on Poonch – Pak killed children, women, men irrespective of religion at Poonch. People who celebrate war, you and me will also become collateral damage. Celebrate war until then! She also shared a quote by the novelist and poet George Orwell’s which read, “All war propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.” She had also condemned India, after reports surfaced in Pakistani media that civilians had been killed.
The News Minute had reported that her details were made public by individuals within the university itself.
Lora’s suspension letter had made its rounds on social media even before she was informed about it. The harassment continued even after her suspension.