The Tamil Nadu State Women’s Commission (SWC) has asked the state government to take legal action against the Kalakshetra Foundation’s administration, as per an exclusive document accessed by TNM. The commission has made a list of seven recommendations to the Tamil Nadu government, based on their inquiry into allegations of sexual harassment at the Union government funded institution.
The TN SWC started looking into the allegations of sexual harassment at Kalakshetra Foundation, specifically the Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts (RDCFA), on March 31, after students staged a night-long protest demanding action against four employees of Kalakshetra. They submitted their report to the state government last week, recommending criminal prosecution of the four employees of the Foundation accused of sexual harassment, and legal action against the management of the foundation.
Further, the Commission has also recommended that the area around Kalakshetra be brought under police surveillance to ensure that no evidence in the case is destroyed, and that witnesses are protected. Other recommendations include setting up of a redressal committees at Kalakshetra, and the immediate dismissal of all four accused.
The Commission has also told the state government that action should be taken to oversee institutions affiliated to Kalakshetra. The Kalakshetra Foundation runs five institutions in Chennai: the Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts (RDCFA); the Besant Arundale Senior Secondary School (BASS), a Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) affiliated English medium school; the Besant Theosophical Higher Secondary School (BTHS), a state government-aided Tamil medium school; and the Craft Education and Research Centre (CERC), a unit of Kalakshetra where handwoven silk sarees and other textiles are produced.
A senior government official confirmed to TNM that these recommendations have been received by the state, and that the government is looking into them.
The Kalakshetra Foundation has been a site of controversy for several weeks now, after the management released the report of a suo motu proceeding of their internal committee (IC) against sexual harassment, and put a gag order on students and staff against ‘spreading rumours’.
For several months now, there have been concerns over sexual harassment at the Union government funded institution; in December last year, Leela Samson, the former director of the foundation, made a Facebook comment alleging sexual harassment against students by a senior dance teacher Hari Padman. Leela Samson’s post also made problematic comments naming an intern at the institution, calling her Hari Padman’s ‘mistress’. She deleted the comments, however a US-based mental health NGO said that at least 100 students and alumni had spoken to them about harassment at the Foundation.
On March 30, after media reports about the Foundation’s gag order, and the allegations against Hari Padman, students started protesting at the institution demanding justice. Meanwhile, three other employees were also accused of sexual harassment, this time by male students and alumni. Kalakshetra refused to take any action, and there was high drama on campus. On April 3, Hari Padman was arrested by the Chennai police on the basis of a complaint by an alumna of the institution.
So far, there is an FIR against Hari Padman; there has been no legal action against the other three employees — Sreenath, Sanjit Lal and Sai Krishnan. Hari Padman has applied for bail and the hearing is coming up in court on April 11. While the three other accused employees who were part of the Kalakshetra repertory — the performance troupe of Kalakshetra — were sacked by the institution according to a press release from the foundation on April 3, Hari Padman has only been suspended as per his service rules.
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