Bengaluru professor sacked for being gay; college claims to have received complaints from students

A professor in a reputed college was allegedly sacked after the college claimed to have received complaints about his sexual orientation

By: News Desk |
March 12, 2017 3:48 pm

In an extremely shocking incident, a Bengaluru professor and LGBT rights activist, Ashley Tellis have claimed that he was sacked from St. Joseph’s College of Arts and Sciences without a due notice only because he was gay. Recalling the incident, Ashley via a Facebook post asserted that he was called by the Principal to be told that his services were not required any longer.

According to his Facebook post, the college principal Fr. Victor Lobo, told him that the “students are disturbed” by his “personal opinions.”

“Students are disturbed by your personal opinions. The management has got to know of these opinions. I have been asked to relieve you with immediate effect. You were hired to teach English Literature. Not to give your personal opinions. Please sign these letters. Leave the college with immediate effect. No need to take any more classes. We will manage,” Ashley quoted the Principal as saying.

According to a PTI report, the college claimed that they had to take the step after parents of some students complained about his sexual orientation. However, Ashley claimed that it was not the first time had to face something like this and that he had denied jobs and have been asked to leave over his sexual orientation.

Asserting that it was disturbing that the LGBT community have to face such problems every now and then, Ashley said, “When a teacher asks students to think, to think critically, to ask questions, to find out how much labourers doing the furious building on campus are being paid, to think about the implications of this Talibanisation of student lives on the gendered futures of the society we live in, to not be intimidated by threats of being asked to take a Transfer Certificate (TC) and leave if they don’t like things here, they are fired as their opinions are apparently “disturbing” the students.”

Post the incident, he has taken to Facebook to share various other incidents in the college in a bid to prove his point. Have a look: