Chennai’s famous Kalakshetra Foundation, an institute of national importance as ordained by the Union government, has been mired in controversy after a senior dance faculty at the Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts (RDCFA) was accused of sexual harassment by several students in online forums. There are also allegations of sexual misconduct by a senior student at the college. The institute has declared in a note on their website that they took suo motu cognisance of these allegations, and found them to be false. While TNM has not been able to access a copy of the report on this investigation, critics have questioned the manner in which this issue was dealt with, and the composition of the internal committee (IC) that looked into this matter. The IC is headed by Revathi Ramachandran, who is also the director of the foundation.
The allegations include sexual misconduct, abuses of power, and human rights violations, according to CAREspaces, an NGO working to ensure safe working conditions and offer support to the survivors. CAREspaces said 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 attest to having 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’s response to these allegations is being seen as irresponsible and dismissive of the complainants, who have raised serious concerns. In an official notice on their website, Kalakshetra said, “During the last few months, a concerted and organised effort is being made to spread rumours and allegations mostly through social media, aimed at maligning Kalakshetra Foundation. These allegations were presented as a false movement to help students speak up, they actually contained numerous ragtag word-of-mouth accounts; some of which were decades old. They seemed to be mostly manufactured by vested interests who, aimed to sully Kalakshetra Foundation by falsely projecting the institution as an unsafe environment and thus confuse and distress students and staff. The Internal Committee took up the enquiry Suo moto and a report has been filed after a thorough investigation. Enquiries were performed with full confidentiality and the committee did not find merit in the allegations.” (sic). A representative from CAREspaces who has been in touch with many of the survivors however told TNM, “The proceedings have been exceedingly arbitrary and lacking transparency.”
Kalakshetra has also issued a gag order against speaking about the issue in their note on their website. “Gossiping, spreading rumours and bad mouthing are incredibly toxic in a learning environment. Further, serious/real issues may be discredited due to a sea of frivolous allegations. Those engaged in such activities are warned that appropriate legal action will be taken against them,” the note said.
A lawyer who has been closely following the issue told TNM, “To say publicly on their website that the allegations are presented as a false movement, and threatening legal, action will create a hostile environment on campus which can seriously deter people filing complaints about sexual harassment. It comes across as a direct threat to students, and in no way assures an environment of openness and safety.”
"The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 clearly states that inability to prove a complaint does not automatically mean it is a false complaint,” the lawyer explained, “Furthermore, acts of sexual harassment can emerge even after years, as the survivors may not have been able to raise the complaint immediately after the incident had occurred. This in no way makes their account invalid."
The Kalakshetra Foundation, established in 1936, is an institution of national significance which is directly funded by the Union Ministry of Culture. According to their website, the Internal Committee against sexual harassment — which is legally mandated — is composed of Revathi Ramchandran (Director, KF), Nandini Nagaraj (Lecturer, RDCFA), Uma Maheshwari (Principal, BASS school), and BS Ajeetha (Advocate, Madras HC). Indian law mandates that the head of this panel must be a senior woman in the organisation, that at least 50% of the members must be women, and that there must be an external member as part of the committee. In the event of a complaint of sexual harassment, this committee has to look into the matter, speak to the complainant, the accused, and witnesses, and tell the management of the organisation what action must be taken.
Here, the head of the organisation — Revathi Ramachandran — is also the person heading the sexual harassment committee, raising serious questions of conflict of interest. A representative of CAREspaces pointed out, “A person from the foundation who holds so much power and influence should have excused herself from the IC. How will survivors be assured that an inquiry will be conducted without bias?”
"Under the Workplace Sexual Harassment Act of 2013, the employer of an organisation acts on the recommendations of the IC and takes the final action after inquiry proceedings in a complaint regarding sexual harassment is completed and a report with the recommendations is given to the employer. However, since Kalakshetra follows the Central Government Service Rules, it is the Disciplinary Authority who examines the preliminary report (after an initial investigation into the complaint), and then decides whether a charge sheet against the person accused of harassment can be framed," the lawyer explained.
"If the director is the Disciplinary Authority, then they shouldn't be the presiding officer or even a member of the IC as that leads to questions of conflict of interest, procedural regularity, and fairness," they added.
On Wednesday, the National Commission for Women took cognisance of the complaints against Kalakshetra and said that the chairperson of the commission has written to the Tamil Nadu DGP to look into the matter.