A chain of e-mail exchanges between faculty members at the Indian Institute of Technology (Madras) and offline discussions on the campus point to evidence that the institute’s counter-complaint against Express photographer Albin Mat-hew was not lodged in good faith.
“Initially the IIT Madras Director did not want the matter to escalate and decided to buy peace by apologising for theincident in which Mathew was allegedly assaulted by Chairman Council of Wardens Prakash Maiya and a few security guards. However, he changed stands after some faculty members bounced the idea of a counter-complaint,” said a senior professor of the institute.
On August 23, a professor of Applied Mechanics in an e-mail wrote: “We too should lodge a complaint against the newspaper, which the reporter belongs to, and demand action.” A couple of professorbacked this suggestion. One of them, a globally accomplished professor who normally refuses to back faculty-related issues, responded: “It is the photographer who tore Dr Maiya’s shirt and hit him - only then Dr Maiya retaliated.”
He insisted the charge was not an afterthought saying: “We let go the first report, as our nature is not to fight; but they take it as our weakness and just continue to lie more.” A senior female faculty member said the women’s hostel warden Indumathi Nambi was not for lodging a counter-complaint. “In a message posted in our Ladies circle Google group Indumathi indicated this. She wrote ‘I have been requested by the administration to file a complaint of harassment to the girls and assault of a Professor…I will file an (sic) harassment case.’ However, Indumathi regretted that Mathew’s complaint had put her in a defending position before the law due to which she had to stay away from the campus,” the faculty member said.
Some of the professors described the protest by journalists over the attack on Mathew as “hooliganism”. However, they justified Professor Maiya’s actions. ‘ “Looking at journalist’s (Mathew) irresponsible behavior, Prof Maiya acted with sole interest of students and the Institute. He acted for students’s (sic) privacy, dignity and security. For this, I feel, there is no need to apologize for anything to the media or anybody.
In fact, it must be that journalist and his newspaper, who must apologize to the Institute, its faculty and students, for his unethical and unprofessional behaviour,” said a professor of Electrical Engineering. Another professor wanted a policy to be evolved “for the entry of the Press inside of our campus.”
Yet another faculty member suggested that the IIT should stop subscribing to newspapers and magazines which “intruded” into ladies hostels and took objectionable photographs as then “the message would be strong and clear (to the publishing house).” Incidentally, a globally accomplished professor called upon his colleagues, non-teaching staff and students to “stand up” and make a point. “They (media) forget that if they can mobilise a few journalists to force police to act, we are not too small a number at IIT,” he said. Quite interestingly, three years ago when the All India IIT Faculty Federation (AIIITFF) had called for a strike over pay anomalies, the very same professor wrote “Today IIT faculty members are reduced to the level of others, who with their unions, will go on fast and strike.
It brings down the stature of IITs and IIT faculty, something that I at least would not be pro-ud of.” “But the same professor has condoned Maiya’s behaviour saying he attacked Mathew as an act of retaliation,” mused an AIIITFF office bearer.
Amidst the media bashing, a Chemical Engineering Department Professor alone made an independent assessment of the issue. In an e-mail, the professor wrote: “I do think a transgression of law has been committed by our colleagues, namely, trying to take away forcibly the camera of an accredited photo journalist. Notwithstanding the provocation, this is an act that would not been expected inside an academic institution of the repute of an IIT. While extending all possible support to our people involved, we should be strong enough to say, ‘Yes, there has been an error on our part and we deeply regret it’ and try for an out-of-court settlement.”
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