Update on Apr 9, 2010:
The Indian Express reports on Friday that a preliminary medical report on the death of Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras suggests he died due to poisoning.
“His death was not due to natural causes. Traces of poison were found in his stomach,” said Maan Singh Chauhan, Superintendent of Police (City), Aligarh. “There were blue spots on the body, his nails were blue.”
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) professor Srinivas Ramchandra Siras, who had returned to work at the university just days ago after the Allahabad High Court lifted the suspension in a temporary order last week, was found dead at his rented residence outside the university on Wednesday.
Several media outlets have described the professor’s death as being “under mysterious circumstances.” According to media reports, his body was lying on his bed and blood was oozing out of his mouth. The police declined to comment immediately on the nature of the death, but did not rule out suicide.
The 64-year-old vacated his university accommodation after he was suspended on February 9 following a video clip – recorded by intruders –showing him having sex with another man in his campus home was sent to university administration.
Dr Siras, who headed the department of modern Indian languages at the university and where he had taught for 22 years, is due to retire this September. He had only just returned to work on Monday.
"I am happy because I have been judged in a wrong way. I have already said that I am gay. I am the same man, with the same qualification, with the same features and personality," he told NDTV. "I feel very very easy and very comfortable to say that I'm gay."
The Hindustan Times on Wednesday reported that he was found by his neighbour who peeped into the late professor’s apartment after noticing a foul smell.
Members of the Independent Fact Finding Committee*, who had documented the late professor’s case for the purposes of a potential lawsuit against the university for unlawful and unethical suspension, issued a statement yesterday demanding the police “conduct a full, fair and impartial investigation into the cause of death.”
According to the fact-finding report which was released on Mar 10, Dr. Siras had repeatedly but unsuccessfully tried to file a First Information Report (FIR) about the various offences which were committed against him including criminal intimidation, assault, trespass and wrongful confinement on 3 and 4 March.
The statement concluded by saying: “That Dr Siras had to undergo the trauma, fear, harassment and humiliation in his own beloved University in what would turn out to be his last weeks is condemnable. If these events and that trauma are in any way linked to his death, then all actors involved must be held culpable.”
IBN Live on Thursday quoted a police spokesperson as saying that the police has ruled out a case of murder. "The manner in which the door was locked from inside indicates suicide," said Aligarh SP Mansingh Chauhan.
The Aligarh Muslim University Teachers' Association (AMUTA) has also demanded a high-level probe after an emergency meeting was convened.
"We are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain whether it was a case of suicide or natural death. But one thing is clear, he was subjected to severe harassment by the university authorities and was under intense mental pressure," AMUTA Secretary Jamshed Siddique told the Times of India. "To suspend a professor without inquiry is unjustified and is another example of the high-handed behaviour of the vice chancellor," he alleged.
*The Independent Fact Finding Committee comprises Deepti Sharma (Saheli, Delhi), Anjali Gopalan (Naz Foundation, Delhi), Gautam Bhan (Voices against Sec 377, Delhi), Pramada Menon (Voices against Sec 377, Delhi), Lesley Esteves (PRISM, Delhi), Sunil Gupta (Nigah, Delhi), Arvind Narrain (Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore), Jaya Sharma (Nirantar, Delhi), Avantika (AALI, Lucknow), Saleem Kidwai (Lucknow), Kabi Sherman, and LABIA (Lesbians and Bisexuals in Action, Mumbai).
A tribute page dedicated to the late professor Srinivas Ramchandra Siras has been set up at: orinam.net/in-memoriam-dr-shrinivas-ramchandra-siras. A candlelight memorial will be held on Friday from 6-7pm @ Humsafar Trust, Municipal Market Building, Nehru Road, Vakola, Santacruz East, Mumbai, India.
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Reader's Comments
I do hope it isn't only gay activists who are crying out in his name.
He should have just 'disappeared' after he was suspended even though he was allowed to return. H should have known that his 'enemies' are still around. Very stupid of him to have committed the second 'stupid' action.
Overseas and tolerant universities in India should consider openly inviting gay academics and students persecuted by hate mongers to study there. Their quality of research wld shoot up, and culturally they wld prosper.
You mean you can't have sex in your own university room/ apartment, rented and paid for with your own money/work, with a consenting partner, or someone might break into yr apt, film you, and kick you out of the university?
Try telling that to the hostelites at NUS/NTU here.
Am eye for an eye will leave the world blind, however, everyone must take the consequences of their actions as well as their inactivity.
Fed up with hearing ''that's just the way things are, this is . . . . ."
(fill in the space as appropriate)
The world doesn't change with out a few people banging their fists on the table, don't want to bore you with details, Gandhi didn't gain independence for India by being a coward, Emmeline Pankhurst didn't get votes for women just by being a coward,
Rest in Peace and thank you for not being a hypocrite or a coward, you are an inspiration to thers.
What the hell do you mean? I will venture to say that the majority of people who read this will find your comments more 'stupid' than anything the professor did.
"he was still to blame to have conducted his activities in the university's grounds. No institution in this world would have tolerated such a conduct. "
Did you read the article or not? Intruders broke into his home - nevermind it was on the university's grounds.
i do indeed think that an impartial investigation is necessary
Dr Gavin Duffy
If you live in a community, university, whatever, where it is apparent that the continuation of your lifestyle (gay,straight, whatever) could eventuate in your death then you need to move or re think your actions.
i agree with gay rights and all but hey, if someone is willing to kill me for it, sory im out of there.
A dead martyr is still dead!!!
If it was murder, most likely someone was incensed at the thought of him returning to his post, and called in the thugs, but it's also worth examining whether someone at the university, which was due to file statements on oath with their side of the case, was anxious to put a halt to the case immediately. Either way, it's not something Prof Siras could reasonably have predicted.
We must not forget that women are still killed in "honour killings" using the same moralist logical of "tradition" and "culture". Those moral and religious officials now in positions of power who remain silent in the face of violence/bigotry, or who blatantly issue knee jerk condemnations directed towards gay people clearly are blinded by their moral majoritarian view. Do they know the dangers that they spawn with their hateful words? Would they want others to discriminate against them for their religious choices, for their skin colour, for their ethnicity, for their class, or for any other factor that puts them in a 'minority'?? In my view they are forgetting their own "golden rule" to put themselves in the shoes of "the other".
Whether a suicide or a murder this sad event is akin to a hate crime either way. It is now time to unmask those who perpetuate such institutionalized hatreds and bigotry. Remember it was the hidden white hoods of the Ku Klux Klan that gave them the power of bigotry in the American South. When finally the white hoods of the hateful KKK were taken off these small minded people were seen to be nothing but shameless cowards who did not have the intellectual nor moral strength to stand up to scrutiny. It is the time these homophobic bigots had their 'hoods' removed.
RIP Prof Siras. You are still an inspiration to being true to oneself.
#5....very UGLY comments from a very UGLY individual, inside and out.
" “A professor had told me that he would not let me remain in the Chairperson’s [Head of Dept.'s] position for long. Barely a week later, this happened,” said Siras, adding that he was not filmed having sex. “I never hid the fact that I was gay, but was never overt about it either.” "
The only laws that are applicable in a secular country like India are the laws of the land. Nobody can force their private beliefs down your throats.
Also, this university receives plenty of funds as grants from the Indian government for its functioning, without which it cannot survive, so they have no business to act like it is a private feifdom where they can do anything they like.
That man was just minding his own business. Estranged from his own family because of being gay, he was warding off his loneliness by seeking such companionship. Life can get pretty lonely if you are gay and elderly. There aren't too many choices of convenient meeting places in India, other than one's own home.
Obviously this case must not be allowed to die down. They need to start with punishing the criminals who broke into his home to take pictures.
Interesting to note the few comments that seem to point the finger of blame back at the victim himself.
He should have known better - he should have hid better - he should have chosen another place of employment etc... I think this is a very short term, selfish, and narrowminded view of the whole issue.
I can understand how it often seems easier just to look after ourselves. To not draw attention to ourselves. I can understand why some people are really against gay mardi gras because they seem to taunt and invite responses.
This is exactly like saying women victims of sexual assault should have covered themselves up more. When do we stop hiding? Does sexual assault disappear when all women are covered head to toe? Of course not. That's denial and fantasy land stuff.
If we hide and keep quiet too much for too long for fear of our personal safety, even as the people around us are hauled off and dispatched, who is going to be around to save us when they come for us next?
I may not want to be marching in a mardi gras parade, but I will dedend the rights of others to do it. Equal rights means everyone regardless of their sexuality and gender is allowed to be who they are in society free from persecution and violence (as long as they dont in turn limit others' rights etc etc).
Blaming the victim in sad cases like this is just not on. The catholic church may as well blame the children for enticing the paedophile priests... they have afterall blamed the gays already.
Seriously, tommyoch (#5), you sound like a retard to me. It's as if you are saying that he deserved to die for fighting for his rights and fair treatment. This is the most idiotic comment I've ever heard.
And also, what happened to the criminal who broke into his house and took the controversial video? Any action taken against him?
This man's wife, who had disowned him for being gay when he was alive, has now suddenly re-discovered their relationship after his death, and has no qualms about trying to grab his property, which is quite substantial by Indian standards.
"I don't want you; but I want your property."
So much for the high-faluting refrain of these heterosexuals of "upholding India's morality".
Here's a strong lesson to all gay people: Make sure to write out your wills in which you unambiguously cut out those who have rejected you. Don't leave them laughing over your ashes.
This man's wife, who had disowned him for being gay when he was alive, has now suddenly re-discovered their relationship after his death, and has no qualms about trying to grab his property, which is quite substantial by Indian standards.
"I don't want you; but I want your property."
So much for the high-faluting refrain of these heterosexuals of "upholding India's morality".
Here's a strong lesson to all gay people: Make sure to write out your wills in which you unambiguously cut out those who have rejected you. Don't leave them laughing over your ashes.
xoxoxo
Yong
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