[Dr Radhikaranjan's report of his discussion with the School Committee is in the form of a letter addressed to Manoj Das Gupta, who happens to be both the Registrar of the Ashram School and the Managing Trustee of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry. A shorter version of the same was sent to the Registrar.]
Manoj-da,
I, Radhikaranjan Das, have been a Sanskrit teacher in this institution teaching at the Kindergarten, Primary, Secondary and Higher Course level from 1980 till date. I have been also teaching Biology at the Secondary level from 1999. My teaching record has been absolutely unblemished and I have never received any complaints from the School authorities regarding it. On Friday 18 May, 2012, I was in my class and was summoned to the School Committee meeting around 11.30 in the morning in your office. The persons present were yourself, Arati-di, Jhumur-di, Swadesh-da and Dilip-bhai. I will try to give you a report of the discussion that took place:
Manoj-da: Radhikaranjan, you have written this article?
Myself: Yes.
Manoj-da: You have gone public with this article. It is a most shameful thing. I will read a portion of it.
Is the smell of dollars so enticing that the Divine's fragrance of Truth, Light, Love and Beauty are masked and left unrecognised? The whole world stands in askance today to know why the Ashram Trust is fighting tooth and nail and pouring out money in an unending stream to protect this snake of a man who has assassinated Sri Aurobindo in the truest sense of the word?
I challenge you to prove where the Ashram Trust has been pouring money in an unending stream!
Jhumur-di: Who can assassinate Sri Aurobindo? He cannot be touched.
Arati-di: How can you write such a thing?
Manoj-da: I will not tolerate this. I will not allow any teacher of our Centre of Education to make such comments. I will have to terminate your services in this institution. Tomorrow I will put up a notice that Radhikaranjan will not take his classes until further notice.
Myself: Will you give this in writing to me?
Arati-di: Why do you want it in writing?
Dilip-bhai: Will you go the Court with it?
Myself: When my services are being officially terminated, I should receive an official notice.
Swadesh-da: Were you given a written statement when you were appointed as a teacher?
Manoj-da: Let him go the Court or let him go to hell! I don’t care! I will give him in writing what he wants. He will have to discontinue his work here.
Myself: This article has nothing to do with the school.
Manoj-da: Of course, it has. You have been a student here and you are a teacher here and you have put this up in a public forum. You have disgraced the name of the school in public.
Myself: I have written anything about the School in this article.
Manoj-da: Look at the words that he has used:
Are there hidden dark secrets of the Trustees of Sri Aurobindo Ashram which Peter Heehs knows, and revealing those might be absolutely disastrous to the whole pack of power-hungry wolves and their retinue?
Swadesh-da: What do you mean a pack of power hungry wolves?
Dilip-bhai: How can you talk like this about the Ashram Trustees?
Manoj-da: I will not listen to anything else. You will have to leave School. I have told you whatever I have to say. Now if you have any question, you may ask.
Myself: (silence)
Manoj-da: If you want to meet me personally later, you may.
Myself: (silence)
Manoj-da: You may go now. (I leave the office.)
On Friday afternoon and on Saturday I attended my classes normally as no notice was put up on the board. On Sunday morning (20 May, 2012), Swadesh-da and Swadhin-da met me on the road.
Swadesh-da: Radhikaranjan, why did you attend your classes when you had been told categorically that you are not to have classes anymore?
Myself: I was not told that. Manoj-da had said that he would put up on the board stating that Radhiranjan will not “attend his classes until further notice”. And he told he would me a written notice.
Swadesh-da: No written notice will be given. Were you given a written statement when you were appointed as a teacher?
Myself: No, I will attend my classes normally tomorrow. He had said that he will give it to me in writing.
Swadesh-da: On Monday, don’t come to take your classes. Don’t create a scene in front of the students.
Myself: He has to give me a statement.
Swadesh-da: You may go and meet Manoj-da. (they leave)
Manoj-da, I have put down exactly the conversations that took place between the committee members and me.
I absolutely fail to understand the reason why my services in the School are being terminated. Is freedom of speech only available to Peter Heehs and not to us? Are we not allowed to express our innermost feelings in this critical period of the Ashram? If you still decide to go ahead with your decision, I would like to know the grounds on which you have taken such punitive action. I would like to have therefore an official written communication clearly stating the reasons for depriving me of my services in the School. Until I receive such an official communication, I will continue doing the Mother’s work and take my classes as usual.
Yours sincerely
Radhikaranjan Das
It was Manoj Das Gupta and Dilip Dutta and mainly Matriprasad who were behind making a false criminal case against me with the help of Vasant Patti and some false witnesses, just because I was trying to protect the original writings of Sri Aurobindo. These people are criminals and was advised to stay away from them for my own safety. So had left Pondicherry but it is them who run the Mother’s Ashram where a sincere teacher cannot express himself but Peter can call Sri Aurobindo anything and change Sri Aurobindo’s original writings and get it printed in new versions with new titles and give it to the world as Sri Aurobindo’s original works, fooling the world that there is also Peter hiding inside where the reader will be mislead. Such a thing they allow but not what Radhika has said, if there is any justice and the Ashram has to come in safe hands then it is people like Radhikaranjan who should be the Managing Trustee and not Manoj Das Gupta and his collected team of MDG servers.
ReplyDeleteWe are here for the Victory of the Divine and not any MDG’s; how long will that go on?