The vice-chancellor of Jadavpur University made an appeal on Wednesday for a commitment to inter-faith harmony and the respect for diversity.
The signed appeal was posted on JU's website a day after a West Bengal Minority Commission team recommended that the head of JU's English department be barred from the campus pending an investigation into allegations that invigilators had harassed two students from a particular community.
The appeal says: "I appeal to all....to reaffirm our shared commitment to inter-faith harmony and the dignity of diversity. Founded on the ideals of learning, reason, and public service, our university has long stood as a melting ground for cultures, language, beliefs and ideas.
"Such plurality is not incidental to our legacy; it is our long-nurtured strength," says the appeal.
VC Chiranjib Bhattacharjee underscored the need for "dialogue, empathy, and restraint".
"We urge every member of our community... to reject prejudice, provocation and misinformation in all forms," the appeal says.
The chairman of the minority commission, Ahmed Hasan Imran, on Tuesday accused the head of the English department of subjecting two undergraduate students to "religious profiling" in the name of enforcement of stringent invigilation norms during the recent semester examination.
The chairman also requested the VC to preserve interfaith harmony to prevent such incidents.
Asked what triggered the appeal, Bhattacharjee told Metro: "I have made a general appeal. I am not going to correlate the appeal with any specific incident. It is for an individual to decide how he or she will interpret the appeal."
The appeal says academic freedom flourished in an environment of "mutual respect, where disagreement is guided by civility and compassion for each other". "Let us ensure that our conduct within and beyond the campus reflects the values we stand for."
A JU representative stated that the appeal aimed to respond to the concerns that have arisen on campus in the wake of the incident.
Some students in JU’s English department had lodged a written complaint alleging that two students were harassed during the third-semester exams in the third week of December.
The commission took suo-motu cognisance of the allegations and recommended that the head of the department be barred from the campus.
On Tuesday, Saswati Halder, the head of English at JU, said that it was "highly unjust and regrettable" for the commission to issue recommendations against her without taking the time to consult with her.
"JU is trying to deal with the controversy sensibly, so it does not give out any wrong message," a JU official said.