Prof. Ramu Manivanan, Head of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Madras, stepped down from the post on Friday.
Prof. Manivannan said he was “punished” for refusing to divulge information about students who participated in the recent protest demanding prohibition in the State.
He has been replaced by Koteshwara Prasad, who is an independent chair of Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Contemporary Studies.
“I was punished for not divulging information on students. No explanation was sought from me. I was asked by the registrar to hand over the charge to Prasad,” Mr. Manivannan said.
Prof. Manivanna has had several issues with the University authorities earlier too. In March, he faced the Vice Chancellor's wrath after he participated in a protest meeting supporting the Tamils in Sri Lanka and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancel his visit to that country. At that time, he was detained in the police station for three hours and later disciplinary action was initiated. It was the Madras University Teachers' Association that came to his rescue then.
Later he had raised his voice against the lack of sufficient drinking water and lack of toilet facilities on the campus. “I will definitely keep my legal options open,” Prof. Manivannan said.
The university’s top officials did not respond to the phone calls and text messages of this correspondent.
