Jadavpur University professor barred from teaching after his remarks on virginity

Kanak Sarkar had triggered a storm by equating girls' virginity to sealed bottle

Kanak Sarkar | Facebook Kanak Sarkar | Facebook

A professor at the prestigious Jadavpur University in Kolkata was divested of his duties on Wednesday after his sexist comments on women sparked off an outrage. Kanak Sarkar, a professor of International Relations, had courted controversy after he put up a misogynistic Facebook post recently equating virgin girls to “sealed bottles”.

“In view of the recommendations of the Student-Teacher Committee of the Department, Prof. Kanak Sarkar is divested of his teaching duties with immediate effect. Substitute arrangements would be decided in the meeting of the Board of Studies scheduled on 18th January 2019,” said a statement issued by the Department of International Relations of the university.

According to a few media reports, Omprakash Mishra, the head of the International Relations Department, has also asked the vice-chancellor to expel Sarkar.

On Monday, the National Commission for Women had asked the West Bengal DGP to probe the allegations against Sarkar and take appropriate action against him.

The students at the university held a protest on Tuesday demanding immediate expulsion of the professor, who in his Facebook post had said a “virgin girl is like a sealed bottle or sealed packet”. 

“Many boys remain fool. They are not aware of virgin girl as wife. Virgin girl is like sealed bottle or sealed packet. Are you willing to buy a broken seal while purchasing a bottle of cold drink or a packet of biscuits?,” Sarkar had said in his post, triggering widespread outrage.