Pune’s Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce, which has drawn criticism after former student Prem Birhade alleged caste discrimination for withholding a verification certificate, on Saturday said that his conduct as a student was “unsatisfactory”. In a statement posted on social media, college principal Nivedita Ekbote rejected claims of bias and said that the institute had earlier issued Mr. Birhade three recommendation letters and bona fide certificates.
A day earlier, The Hindu had reported about the allegations levelled by Mr. Birhade, a Dalit youth based in London, saying that a U.K.-based company had “asked my college if I had studied there. The college did not respond. Why? Because you don’t want us to get ahead in life. This is the struggle of me, my family, my community”.
In response to the principal’s statement, Mr. Birhade said he would file a defamation and harassment case against the college, reiterating his charge of caste discrimination.
“If you want us to hang a broom and a pot around our necks now, that is not going to happen,” he said in a video statement on Saturday.
Gajanan Ekbote, chairperson of the Progressive Education Society that runs the college and the principal’s father, dismissed the allegations as “false and baseless”.
