Yahoo Sports Jadavpur University Professor Maroona Murmu Faces Casteist Slurs Online For Objecting to Centre's Decision to Hold Exams Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
Kolkata, September 6: Casteist slurs were hurled at a professor of the Jadavpur University in Kolkata after she objected to the Centre's decision to hold examinations amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Maroona Murmu, professor in the Department of History and who belongs to the tribal community, had on September 2 expressed concern on social media regarding the University Grants Commission's (UGC) decision to hold final-year and terminal semester exams amid the coronavirus crisis. 'Leave India' Notice Served to Polish Student of Jadavpur University After He Joined Anti-CAA Protests.
Murmu's post drew sharp reactions, including casteist abuses and taunts relating reservation. Paromita Ghosh, a student of Bethune College, reacted: "It’s surprising that Jadavpur University has professors like Maroona Murmu. I am surprised with her mentality and stand taken (against holding the examinations). I would like to explain to her the difference between ‘quota’ and no-quota)." Misogynistic Professor From Kolkata’s Jadavpur University Puts Up Virgin-Shaming, Sexist Posts on FB, Compares Women’s Virginity With Cold Drink’s Broken Seal.
She went on to post: "To know that life is more important than an academic year, one doesn’t require being a professor. It’s not about lagging one year but about how some unqualified and incompetent people take undue advantage of the reservation system and their caste is now helping them be successful, while those deserving lags behind. Risking life, our parents are stepping out to survive, to arrange food, while some are sitting at home and getting paid."
Similar hate messages and casteist slurs were posted by many others in response to Murmu's opposition regarding the Centre's decision on exams. She said she is saddened by casteist abuses hurled at it, adding that she had every right to express her view. Bethune College Students’ committee and Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) condemned attacks on Murmu.
