Fiery end of a gender justice activist

The self-immolation by a 20-year old girl B.Ed. student of the Fakir Mohan College of Balasore in Odisha, has caused widespread outrage and triggered protests in the state. The suicide on July 14 came when her pleas for action against the faculty head for sexual harassment went unheard.

Conversely, the college principal Mr. Dilip Ghosh—now under arrest—asked her to compromise with the harasser. More odiously, the local MLA and ministers failed to provide her any relief although the local BJP MP Pratap Sarangi held Ghosh responsible for shielding the accused.

Curiously, the victim was an activist of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad, affiliated to the Bharatiya Janata Party currently ruling the state. Even complaint to the police as well as college authorities by the victims’ parents fell on deaf ears.

The victim chose a fiery death over a life of humiliation. And she did this in a way that the world could witness her tragic ordeal and the horrific death in protest against the system in broad daylight in the very temple of learning that could have ensured her a bright future.

Cumulatively, the girl’s death has to be attributed to a system of educational administration that provides no vent for grouses of students. They may be held hostage by the senior faculty members who decide the grades and shape the future career paths of the students.

The monopoly over levers of power leave little room for relief if the students were to refuse complying with the vulgar urges of those in whose hands their future rests.

In its essence, the death has become the flashpoint for broader concerns pertaining to women’s safety on campuses.