A history teacher at Presidency University has been accused of making “sexist remarks” to two girl students: “Agar parhna nahin ata, toh roti belna sikh lo.”

The entire second-year postgraduate class of history has demanded action against the teacher for allegedly asking the girls to “learn to make rotis if you can’t study”. They had gone to him to say they were unable to cover all 15 articles he had given them to study.

They lodged a complaint of “student harassment” against the teacher who had joined the university about a year ago.

The university authorities had referred the complaint to the gender cell. “The teacher, around 35, is new to the profession. Perhaps he did not realise that a casual remark could have landed him in trouble. We will ask him to be cautious,” a senior university official said.

A section of teachers and gender activists reacted sharply to the “insensitive” remark while others wondered whether roti belna — the act of flattening dough with a rolling pin — is a sexist stereotype since thousands of men have been doing the task every day in star hotels to streetside food joints.

Amit Sen, a former dean of Calcutta University’s law faculty, said: “The remark was unwarranted and undesirable.”

Another Calcutta University teacher said she was upset because “the act of making rotis has been used in a negative sense to insult the girls”.

Samita Sen, former co-ordinator of the Centre for Women’s Studies at Jadavpur University, said: “I am not sure what happened at Presidency University but this is the mindset everywhere, at all kinds of institutions. It’s a gender mindset.”

Others have come out in the teacher’s defence, saying the remark can be interpreted differently.

A sociologist, who did not want to be named because of his association with the erstwhile Presidency College, said the roti remark appeared sexist because it’s a metaphor for restricting women to homemaking.

The Presidency teacher had asked the students to study 15 articles for a coursework in the third semester. He allegedly made the remark a few days before the Puja vacation when the two girls complained that they were finding it difficult to complete the project.

When Metro contacted the accused teacher, he said: “I don’t remember making any such remark to any student.”

The dean of students’ affairs has forwarded the complaint to the vice-chancellor Malabika Sarkar.

A teacher at the women’s studies department of Jadavpur University said: “Such stereotyping is prevalent but the Presidency teacher’s remark is unacceptable.”

“Women are waging a war for gender equality. Such comments are bound to come as a blow to women to prove their ability and competence,” the teacher added.

Others felt that it would have been equally derogatory if the teacher had told a male student that he should be a rickshaw-puller if he couldn’t study all the 15 articles. “But it would also suggest that he should aim for a better profession by studying more diligently. No student, male or female, should be humiliated,” a teacher said.

The sociologist explained: “The quote definitely intended to mean that the girl students had no future other than household chores… something the feminists would object to. It was like showing woman in a patriarchal set up.”

“The teacher was probably trying to motivate the girls to opt for intellect over physical labour. Maybe the gesture is harsh but well-intentioned.”