Jadavpur University professor Kanak Sarkar, who compared women's virginity to bottle seals, divested of duties by varsity panel

Jadavpur University professor Kanak Sarkar, who sparked a controversy for his remarks on women’s virginity, was  divested of his duties with immediate effect, according to several media reports. Earlier Wednesday, the Student-Teacher Committee of the International Relations department — in which Sarkar teaches — recommended that Sarkar be asked to stop teaching, ANI reported. Sarkar has also been barred from entering the campus pending an inquiry,  reported India Today.  The order, signed by department head Omprakash Mishra, referred to the University’s Board of Studies, which will meet on 18 January to discuss arrangements for a substitute teacher, India Today further reported. [caption id=“attachment_5898921” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Kanak Sarkar. Facebook[/caption] Students of Jadavpur University (JU)  staged protests at the university campus , demanding that Sarkar be removed for his remarks. In the aftermath of the outrage, Sarkar had defendent his posts, even though he deleted many of them. “I am doing social research and writing for the good and wellbeing of society…it’s everybody’s right to express his/her thoughts (sic),” he has written in defence. The particular post which went viral and which has since been deleted, said that to most boys a “ virgin wife is like an angel ” and thus, they should make sure that the women they marry are “biologically sealed from birth”. A former student has recounted on Facebook an incident where she was giving a presentation in class and Sarkar, then the head of the department, had interrupted her to ask her if she wanted to become a model, because she had “what men would enjoy”. The National Commission for Women (NCW) had taken suo motu cognisance of the objectionable statements. An NCW team, led by Rekha Sharma, will meet the university Vice-Chancellor, to discuss the matter during their scheduled visit to West Bengal this week. The Commission has also written to the West Bengal Director General of Police, directing him to investigate the matter and take appropriate action as per the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code. With inputs from agencies