Several students and staff at Chennai’s Kalakshetra protested for hours on the campus demanding a safe space to speak up about harassment and action on the sexual harassment allegations at the institute. The students walked away from the morning prayer meeting after Hari Padman, a senior faculty against whom sexual harassment allegations have surfaced, came to the premises. The prayer meeting, which began at 8.30 am on Thursday, March 30, at Thapovan – the common prayer and meditation space under the banyan tree – was boycotted in an attempt to register protest against the institute’s inaction despite several allegations against him.
A third-year student who was present at the meeting told TNM that the alleged perpetrator left after the students walked away from the prayer. “We then re-assembled, and Revathi Ramachandran, the director of Kalakshetra addressed us. Padmavathi, the deputy director of Kalakshetra was also present. Revathi did not allow anyone to particularly speak but kept evading the topic and asking us what the issue is and why we are protesting,” she said. The student also mentioned that her peers pointed out how Revathi herself is known to make body-shaming, humiliating remarks, and how students could not trust her to ensure justice.
Students and staff assembled at Kalakshetra’s prayer and meditation space
“Many among us told her that we feel unsafe on the campus when the alleged harasser walks around freely. How can we address any experience of harassment in such an atmosphere? We said that we are afraid of him, and highlighted that there are kids on campus, as well as minors at the Besant Arundale Senior Secondary School (BASS), several of whom take after-school classes with him. We have not been assured by anyone of any action, and when the Director asked us what we want, we shouted in a chorus that we want justice,” she said. The students have been circulating a call for protest on the campus via WhatsApp with the hashtag #wewantjustice since March 29, to mobilise solidarity for their concerns.
Call for protest circulated by Kalakshetra students
Last week, TNM spoke to two survivors from Kalakshetra who recounted their experiences and named their abuser as Hari Padman – an assistant professor of dance at Kalakshetra’s Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts (RDCFA). We also spoke to six staff members of Kalakshetra, all of whom attest that the environment in the institute is toxic. One of the main demands by the protesters on March 30 was that Hari Padman be suspended.
The student also confirmed that two faculty members spoke up to Revathi during the meeting detailing how they had previously taken up harassment allegations with her, but she never took action. “Revathi kept telling us that she will take action, but also said she cannot mention what it will be. She stressed that Kalakshetra is an institution of national significance and that the reputation of the institute must be kept in mind,” the student told TNM.
Exams are ongoing at Kalakshetra, but the protesting students have boycotted them. They are seated in silent protest at the meditation hall, in an attempt to elicit action from the Foundation. Revathi Ramachandran refused to comment when asked if she would be acting on the demands made by the students.
Students and staff in silent protest at Kalakshetra
Allegations of harassment against a senior faculty member of Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts (RDCFA), situated inside the Kalakshetra campus, had emerged recently after several students shared their experiences of being sexually harassed in anonymous posts on social media platforms. The allegations raised include sexual misconduct, abuse of power, and human rights violations at the institute. CAREspaces, an NGO working to ensure safe working conditions and offer support to the survivors, said that they formed a listening space for the students, alumni, and repertory dancers to speak about these allegations after some students spoke up on social media platforms a few months ago. They also stated that they received “over 100 narratives that reveal frustration and fear towards the institution's decision-makers and administrators, especially due to their open support of alleged abusers.”
Kalakshetra had dismissed the allegations as rumours and claimed that they were aimed at maligning the institute. The Foundation had also issued a gag order against speaking about the issue, in a note on its website. Activists who have been supporting the survivors have questioned the composition of the IC — which is headed by Revathi Ramachandran who is also the director of the foundation — alleging that it raises serious questions of conflict of interest.
The protest on campus happened a day after Rekha Sharma, Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) made an unscheduled and surprising visit to the Kalakshetra to enquire about the allegations of harassment at the institution.