ISI slams hateful graffiti that surfaced on Kolkata campus after Delhi blast

Kolkata, Nov 13 (PTI) Graffiti containing a hateful message against a religious community appeared inside the prestigious Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Kolkata, prompting the authorities to issue an internal notice on Thursday to denounce the act.

Two such graffiti near the ISI men’s hostel were found a day after the blast near the Red Fort in Delhi, in which 13 people were killed.

An already existing note, 'Dogs shouldn't enter the premises' on one side of a door was prefixed with two words naming a particular community. A similar message solely targeting the community was also found on an adjacent wall.

Students and researchers demanded stern action against those who wrote those hate messages.

Condemning the act, ISI Director Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay said the institute had always stood for pluralistic traditions and promoted academic and research excellence against any gender-based, religious and linguistic discrimination among its stakeholders.

"We are working to find the individual or group involved in the act. After the semester exams are over, we will take whatever remedial measures are taken including counselling of those found to be involved," she said.

This had never been the practice or tradition of an institution like ISI that has a glorious past, said Bandyopadhyay who is now out of Kolkata.

"Even if some misguided elements committed the act, they don't represent the ISI family. It (the hateful graffiti) was an aberration and I hope it won't recur in future," she said.

To a question, the director said a notice condemning such act and forbidding any such hateful postering is being uploaded in the internal group of the hallowed institution very soon.

The director said though the area where the graffiti came up was not entirely covered by CCTV, "we are scanning the footage (from nearby spots)." Admitting that graffiti sent a very toxic message, she said photos of the writings have been taken and now they should be removed.

"It doesn't look well and the ISI stakeholders don't want such graffiti to remain for a long time," Bandyopadhyay said.

A senior institute official said that an internal notice has already been issued for the ISI Kolkata community by the authorities on Thursday, "denouncing any divisive campaign, display of posters, graffiti or utterances in public which have the potential to spread hatred." "We have also warned of strict action if there is any violation of the guideline," said the official of the ISI, which functions under the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

He asserted that a pre-eminent higher educational institution like ISI had never experienced such religious bigotry as its students, researchers and faculty always believed in pluralistic values and worked side by side.

A researcher, Randip Kumar, said that the two newly scribbled graffiti surfaced in the Men's hostel area on the morning of November 11, around 12 hours after the Delhi blast.

"When boarders of the hostel went out at 6-6.30 am, only the "Dogs not allowed" graffiti remained. The fresh writings were found around 7:30 am. We are shocked that such writings can be spotted in an institution like ISI. We demand immediate action of the authorities against the perpetrators," Kumar told PTI.

He said that the research scholars will be meeting the Dean of Studies soon, demanding immediate identification of those behind such activities, steps against them and a categorical official statement by the institute about the whole development.

"Director Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay had verbally denounced the act and promised action, but we have not seen any. We also want the CCTV footage of the spot to be shared with the students and researchers," Kumar said.

Expressing outrage, CPI(M)'s student wing SFI demanded strict action against those who were behind this and dubbed their act as against the spirit and ethos of India.

"It is somewhat alarming that such communal hatred is being spread inside a progressive campus like ISI,” SFI state committee member Subhajit Sarkar told PTI.

"The administration should take strict action against those who have written these words which is against the spirit of India, anti-Constitution," he said.

Sarkar, who went to the campus on Wednesday to participate in a demonstration against an alleged attempt to shift the Kolkata campus elsewhere, said the culprits need to be taught a lesson that India is meant for all.

The Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) also expressed concern over the hateful graffiti in a premier institution like ISI, but "no demonstrative action has been taken by the authorities to find out those involved in such an abominable act as yet." If any student or researcher is found to be involved, the person should be counselled by a psychiatrist. If any teaching or non-teaching staff is behind this, there should be strict punishment, APDR General Secretary Ranjit Sur said in a statement.

He said a written complaint has already been filed with the institute administration.

Several members of a particular community were arrested following the discovery of a huge amount of explosives on November 10 in north India, hours before the blast near the Red Fort. PTI SUS NN