Varsity paid for sting on gay prof

A homophobic Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) administration had hired four TV crew to trespass into the house of one of its senior teachers and film him allegedly having sex with a man.

Though the Delhi High Court legalised consensual homosexuality and the Supreme Court declined to stay the order, Dr Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras was allegedly suspended for having consensual sex.

Vice-chancellor Dr P. K. Abdul Aziz claimed that most of the faculty members wanted to oust Siras, 64, a reader of Marathi fiction and chairman of the Modern Indian Languages department. " Such acts vitiate the atmosphere on the campus," he said.

Curiously, the university had charged Siras with sexually harassing a woman in 1996. However, the authorities couldn't substantiate the allegation and withdrew the case even before he could file his reply.

An anguished Siras said he had fought back and forced his detractors to "tolerate" him for 22 years, but wouldn't use "the same lingo the university management used against" him.

"We live in a democracy which is not a democracy in the real sense. They have suspended me when I had only six months left to retire. They want to block my pension and provident fund," Siras said.

"I don't know how they will substantiate the charges used to suspend me. I have consulted a lawyer to decide my future plan," said Siras, a scholar from Nagpur and a well- known essayist.

"I can't understand what should I do when two crimes have taken place against me. Some people barged into my house without my permission and then the vice- chancellor suspended me against the law of the land." A source in the AMU said some executive council members had taken the consent of V-C Aziz before hiring the journalists to conduct the sting operation.

"The TV crew was given information about the presence of a youth inside Siras's official residence. The journalists barged into his house, took some shots and escaped before Siras could understand what was happening. A senior member of the university pooled in money from some of the council members and paid the four Rs 20,000 for the two-minute video recording," the source added.

AMU spokesperson Rahat Abrar conceded that the four were hired. "I have seen the clip and believe it's enough to suspend him under Rule 403-C of the AMU statute on the grounds of gross misconduct," he said.

"We are preparing a chargesheet against Siras. He can present his case before the disciplinary committee. He is free to go to the police or the court." Dr Tariq Islam, a professor of philosophy in AMU who was suspended in August, 2009 and then reinstated after six months defended Siras.

"The V-C wants to send a signal across the teaching community that he would remove whoever stood up to him. Siras had raised questions against the dictatorial attitude of the V- C. I was suspended on a frivolous charge when I registered a complaint of financial embezzlement against Aziz. I am sure these are terror tactics because he is a dictator," Islam said.

Siras's suspension has sent shock waves through the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community. Human rights activist and founder- member of the Bangalore- based Alternative Law Forum, Arvind Narrain, said: "AMU can't enforce public morality. The professor did not harm anybody, so why should they suspend him?" LGBT activist Sunil Gupta termed AMU's action as "quite a fall".

"The crime here is an assault on Siras's privacy. The incident goes to show that we need more than just a change in the law for attitudes towards homosexuality to actually change," he said.

Siras will now have to fight a long battle in his twilight years.