Show Pachauri the door

For long RK Pachauri was regarded as one of the saviours of the planet.  Lately his credibility has seen a steep fall. After a case of sexual harassment against him in May last year by a 29-year-old research analyst, the Internal Complaints Committee at TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) indicted him on the charge of misuse of his position. His conduct was found to be in violation of the organisation's policy on sexual harassment. Following this, he resigned from the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change too. For over three decades Pachauri had built TERI as his personal fiefdom. It is alleged by many employees that he treated women employees as part of his power entitlement. 

Such a tendency is not uncommon in professional organisations, where top personnel find it hard to come out of a feudal mindset. Proving Pachauri's guilt was not easy. There was hostility against the complainant. The HR Head, TERI, had to be removed on a court's order from the committee for influencing the investigation in favour of Pachauri. Ranjana Saikia, the head of TERI's Internal Complaints Committee which found Pachauri guilty, resigned two months later. After all this, Pachauri has been promoted Executive Vice-Chairman of TERI.  

Now, another complainant, a former employee of TERI, has come forward to file a case against Pachauri for making sexual advances ten years ago. While sceptics are questioning the timing of this complaint, it is shocking that after dozens of pages of highly incriminating e-mails and text messages sent by Pachauri to the research analyst, he was found fit for a promotion! Such incidents reinforce the notion that when women go out to work, they have to ‘adjust’ to the 'man's world'. This is not an isolated case. Sexual harassment thrives on a combination of factors: skewed power relations, women's fear of stigma and anxiety over their career and future. This climate — and the mindset — needs to change. Pachauri should face exemplary punishment.