Chennai: Students staged a protest on Thursday at Kalakshetra Foundation, a prime arts and cultural academy in Chennai, demanding motion towards 4 senior male school members accused of sexual harassment.

Amid the protests, the Foundation introduced closing the Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts till April 6 and requested the scholars to vacate the campus. But refusing to budge till they get justice, the scholars continued their protests till the time of writing.

The protests come after their disappointment with the response of Kalakshetra, which features autonomously beneath the ministry of tradition, to their complaints towards a senior male dancer who is about to carry out a dance drama on Friday. The senior male dancer has been accused of sexual harassment.

Kalakshetra had on March 19 mentioned that their Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) suo moto initiated an investigation and located no fact within the complaints. Based on this, the National Commission for Women (NCW) determined to shut the criticism although the central physique had on March 22 tweeted that they’re informing Tamil Nadu DGP Sylendra Babu to file an FIR towards the alleged perpetrator and Kalakshetra’s director Revathi Ramachandran for allegedly shielding him. The Chennai police started an investigation on March 20.

On Thursday, 4 lecturers have been accused of sexually harassing the scholars and their names have been revealed throughout the protests. “We will stand in solidarity until the accused are rusticated from the institution,” mentioned a protesting scholar who shared their record of calls for. A bunch of cotton saree-clad college students held placards with the slogan, “we want justice”, and raised the slogan in refrain. They additionally launched a poster on social media requesting kids to face by them to “put an end” to the “sexual harassment and misconduct” on the campus which they mentioned has been happening for lengthy.

“Kalakshetra has been dismissive of our complaints when we submit a letter or talk about it,” one of many protesting college students informed reporters. “They didn’t take it seriously and kept telling us that they would give us a solution but till today we have not received a solution. If we don’t unite, we realise, we will never get justice. There are four people we have complained about sexually harassing us and everyone knows who those four are. One of them who has been sexually harassing us is also performing tomorrow. So, if this continues, there is no safety for us and students joining after us.”

The Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts (beneath Kalakshetra) will stay closed from March 30 (5.15 pm) to April 6, mentioned a round issued by the principal Pakala Ramadas. “All inmates are requested to vacate the hostel within two days with immediate effect,” the round learn. “Exams scheduled on these days are postponed. New dates will be announced in due course.”

Students mentioned that the establishment was threatening them with this round as an alternative of addressing the sexual harassment. By night the town police had additionally arrived on the campus. “Senior students and police are inside the director’s room for a discussion,” mentioned one of many protesters who didn’t want to be recognized. “They are not addressing the elephant in the room. The director is saying that there is no evidence, no written complaint so nothing can be done. Several emails of complaints sent to the ICC are being gathered now.”

The complaints of sexual harassment got here into the general public area when Kalakshetra’s former director Leela Samson had in a Facebook publish final December written about how a number of college students have been persevering with to face sexual harassment beneath a instructor who was abusing his place of energy. While Samson didn’t title the alleged perpetrator, she had named survivors. She has since deleted the publish. CAREspaces (Conscientious Artistes Rallying for Ethical Spaces within the Indians Arts Community), a non-profit organisation (NPO), based mostly out of the US, in December 2022 launched a press release that they’d assist survivors and allies in Kalakshetra since many allegations of abuse of energy, controlling alternatives for private positive aspects, and actively neglecting complaints have surfaced.

Last week, a criticism was filed within the Adyar police station by one of many girls from Kalakshetra towards former director Samson for naming her in a Facebook publish saying that she shouldn’t be a sufferer. NCW’s chairperson Rekha Sharma reportedly went to the Kalakshetra campus on Wednesday relating to the complaints. On March 25, Kalakshetra launched one other assertion that they’ve requested the NCW to think about the motion already taken and welcome additional enquiry if not happy. “During the last few months, a scurrilous campaign is being carried out through social media posts casting aspirations on the functioning of Kalakshetra Foundation, and targeting some members of faculty and also malingering the institution’s credibility,” the Foundation mentioned on March 25.

Countering their response, Carnatic musician T M Krishna on March 27 wrote an open letter addressed to Kalakshetra’s chairman S Ramadorai. “The lack of sensitivity, the aggressive tone, and the dismissiveness is unbecoming,” Krishna had mentioned in his letter. “I am also shocked that in some quarters this is being turned into an attack on the institution and sullied with political/religious insinuations.” Krishna urged the Kalakshetra chairman to take motion to handle “these very serious complaints.”