To the Trustees of the Somaiya Vidyavihar

We write this letter to condemn the termination of the principalship of Ms. Parveen Shaikh. While we understand that a contract of employment is a relationship between the employee and employer, we are writing this letter to raise our concerns on grounds of fairness, courage and democratic values. 

We have seen that your school website contains testimonies of parents praising Ms. Shaikh in her capacity as a principal. Her twelve years of service to the school (seven of which were spent as a principal), surely demanded more empathy while looking into the allegations that were levelled on her. We wonder if the credibility of the website that published the article was taken into consideration when the decision to terminate her contract was made. One would have also hoped that an educational institution of your reputation ought to have not only allowed but also enabled chances of dialogue and / or reconciliation with the aim of not just fairly investigating the claims made by the website but also, standing by your employee. We believe your action amounts to submission to the pressure seemingly generated by the website known for its skewed, biased and provocative views.

We live in times that are increasingly becoming polarized for the benefit of a few. In times like these, what is the message that you wish to convey to the world through this act? Does this imply that henceforth people can be fired on the basis of articles posted on websites, especially the unreliable or propaganda ones? Should the years of service, character of the person, quality of the work, professional ethics and service rendered to the student community, not be taken  into account when taking a decision as grave as terminating the contract of a principal ostensibly due to loss of confidence? What message would you be conveying to the students in your care?

As people who run such a reputed school and other institutions of learning in the city, standing by your employee and standing for your employee could have helped to strengthen the diverse fabric of society that is in danger from extremism and intolerance today. 

We ask you, on the grounds of fairness and propriety, to reconsider your decision of hastily and unfairly terminating the services of Ms. Parveen Shaikh. 

If recognised institutions and educators do not stand up for justice, who will? 

From, 

People from all walks of life who believe that the termination of Ms. Parveen Shaikh is unfair. 

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