Bengaluru: The Jain University Centre for Management Studies suspended six students for doing a skit that allegedly made offensive remarks against Dr B R Ambedkar and Dalits. A disciplinary committee involving experts as per the UGC guidelines will investigate the incident.
The video of the skit went viral. The skit was done by The Delroys Boys, a theatre group from CMS. They apologised on the Instagram page and said the act was not done to be discriminatory. "The skit was aimed to bring attention to the challenges faced by the marginalised communities, using humour as a tool to shed light on these hardships."
The incident took place during a youth festival organised by the college that is scheduled to be held till February 20. A formal complaint has been made before the superintendent of police, Nanded, Maharashtra.
Aakshay Bansode, state member Yuva of Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi, filed a complaint that alleged that the skit is "highly casteist and performed with serious ill motives and to intentionally insult and humiliate the community and people belonging to it." He added that the derogatory and defamatory statement about Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar is also highly offensive at large and showcases the intention of the performers. He also observed that the university authorities allowed the skit to be performed on stage and published it on social media because it had gone through various checks, reported The Indian Express.
The university said an "unconditional apology" has been given to the public. "The skit’s intention was to highlight the anti-caste system in the country. However, the students went a little overboard in their presentation. As soon as we realised that the skit was offensive, we immediately suspended the boys. We also called the students’ parents and informed them about the incident."
An official claimed that the skit was part of Mad-Ads and the performance was an extempore (spoken or done without preparation). "Although it highlights the anti-caste system prevailing in society, the students took more liberty. We totally condemn the act."