There has been quite a turmoil at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) in New Delhi, a top institute for education in journalism and mass communication, due to the suspension of a student, earlier this week, over writing for a news portal drawing attention to the sacking last month of a campus professors. The students backing the sacked employees say that their online activities are being tracked and monitored. Parents have also been called of some of these students by the IIMC authorities warning them of charges, which the institute clearly denies.
Here is what is happening at IIMC since December 2016:
- Rohin Kumar, a student of the Hindi journalism course was suspended on January 9 for “making wild allegations against the institute through his writings in online media on a matter which is against the institute and provoking students to create unrest on the campus and thereby vitiating the academic atmosphere”.
- Two days earlier, Kumar had written an article for Newslaundry opposing the sacking of Narendra Singh Rao (associate in the advertising and public relations department) – it was headlined ‘Academic Associate Sacked, Students Put under Surveillance: All Happening In IIMC’.
- Rao was fired in December while he was on a medical leave due to “acute anxiety”. He had applied for medical leave on December 19 and on December 21, his contract was terminated with immediate effect, about three months before it was due for renewal.
- Rao opposed the early termination of his contract before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on January 3. And as per PTI reports, Delhi High Court rejected to interfere with the order of CAT which had declined to grant him any immediate relief. Although apex court bench consoled Rao allowing him to toss the issue before the tribunal where a hearing is scheduled on January 30.
- Meanwhile, Rohin Kumar has also been ordered out of bounds from the institute campus and the institute hostel. The suspension order stated that a final decision will be taken by a disciplinary committee. It has been pending ever since.
- The allegation on an institute that is supposed to produce independent journalists and communicators was not a surprise as they tried to suppress the opinion of a student restricting him to even enter the institute campus. As the students allege, the authorities are now constantly keeping a track of their personal social media posts. Parents of some of the students who supported Rao have also been called and pressurized to withdraw their support towards Rao.
- As Students accuse, they claim that screenshots of what they write in their class WhatsApp groups and what they post on Facebook have been allegedly made available to their heads of departments. Parents of some have been cautioned that the politics of their wards can impact their placements at the end of the year. Proving the student’s allegation- Screenshots of WhatsApp messages sent by five students who were in favor of Rao were allegedly shared with Surbhi Dahiya, Dean of Students Welfare who became course director of the advertising and public relations department in November – of which Rao was a part. These students were called to Dahiya’s office on December 26 and were shown a file with printouts of their social media posts and messages, some students claimed. Dahiya however refrain from passing any comment to the incident.
- Five students were called before the disciplinary committee (which included Dahiya) on December 29th and were told that their social media posts are “tarnishing” the image of the institute.
- The disciplinary committee issued an order advising students to “strictly adhere to the Code of Conduct for students including Social Media Policy” and “maintain peace and congenial academic atmosphere on the Campus”. The students who claimed to have refused to accept the order copies were sent to their parents. A copy of the “Code of Conduct” was also uploaded on the IIMC website on December 29.
- On December 26, five days after sacking Rao, IIMC issued an order that “debarred” him from entering the institute premises, including hostels and quarters. He was restricted on the grounds of spreading vicious propaganda amongst the student. The order stated that Rao had been “raising passions on caste and communal lines and trying to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere” of the institute.
- Rao put up this order on his Facebook page on December 27 and wrote: “After seeing massive protest against my arbitrary and illegal termination on social media, in a bid to do ‘damage control’ by any means, IIMC administration is further resorting to the most repressive and draconian measures.” Which was later taken down by Facebook.
- In favor of the Institute, authority said that since Rao’s contract stated that he could be fired without any notice, his sacking was done “purely under the law”. He said the institute was not satisfied with Rao’s attitude. He said he felt that Rao’s “continuance was not in the interest” of the institute and that is why he was sacked before his contract ended
