BENGALURU - A premier dance institute in India has been rocked by sexual harassment allegations against one of its instructors.

Police in Chennai, capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, arrested Hari Padman on April 3. They registered a criminal case against him after a former student at Kalakshetra Foundation in the city accused him of sexual harassment, including allegedly sending obscene text messages.

Padman, an assistant professor at Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, a part of the Kalakshetra Foundation, is being held in judicial custody until April 13. The foundation is an 87-year-old arts and cultural academy.

The student attended the institution from 2015 to 2019 and later discontinued her studies. The accused, an alumnus, choreographer and principal dancer, has been teaching at the academy since 2002.

The arrest came after dozens of students protested in late March against his alleged sexual misconduct, and against senior staff at the academy for allegedly shielding him.

The dance students demanded the dismissal of Padman and three other staff members who they said behaved inappropriately, allegedly verbally and sexually harassing current and former students for several years.

After Padman’s arrest, Kalakshetra appointed an independent inquiry committee to investigate the allegations. The foundation’s board suspended Padman pending the inquiry, and terminated the services of three other employees – repertory artists Sanjith Lal, Sai Krishnan and Sreenath.

Internal investigations into the complaints earlier had exonerated Padman, but the students alleged that their point of view was not duly considered. 

In December 2022, Kalakshetra’s former director, Ms Leela Samson, posted on Facebook about a teacher who had allegedly harassed and molested students for more than a decade.

“A public institution, a haven of the highest art and contemplation – now turning a blind eye to how young girls are treated,” she wrote. 

Following an outpouring of comments from former and present students agreeing with her, a peer group was formed, and a petition was submitted in late 2022 with more than 600 signatories asking for transparency and accountability from the institution. 

In response, on March 19, Kalakshetra published an official notice on its website condemning the complaints as “a concerted and organised effort” to malign the foundation. “These allegations... seemed to be mostly manufactured by vested interests who aimed to sully Kalakshetra Foundation by falsely projecting the institution as an unsafe environment and thus confuse and distress students and staff,” it said. 

It also warned of legal action against those who discussed the allegations on social media. 

Mr S. Ramadorai, chairman of the Kalakshetra Foundation, said in an official statement that a detailed inquiry into the allegations raised on social media had revealed that they were unfounded and baseless. 

The state women’s commission chairman, Ms A.S. Kumari, met students at the campus on April 1.

“We have received around 100 complaints, including those of sexual harassment. We will initiate the steps as per law,” she said.

Padman’s wife Divya filed a counter-complaint on April 5 seeking a police inquiry into the role in the protests played by two Kalakshetra professors, who she claims were “driven by jealousy” of her husband’s achievements.

The students, meanwhile, have called off their protests as investigations unfold, and began taking exams from Wednesday. 

Classical musician T.M. Krishna, a former board member at Kalakshetra, wrote in The Wire, an online publication, that Kalakshetra students are often seen as non-confrontational, “especially since their learning environment seems to provide little room for questioning”.

But they protested because “they were pushed into such a difficult corner”. 

Kalakshetra was founded by the late Rukmini Devi Arundale, a reputed dancer and choreographer.

Bharatanatyam classical dance, classical Carnatic music and fine arts are taught under large trees and in open theatres at the academy. In 1994, the Indian government recognised it as an institution of national importance, and it is now funded by the federal Ministry of Culture.