Lora Santhakumar, an assistant professor at SRM University in Chennai, has been removed from her post after the university’s internal inquiry claimed she committed serious misconduct by sharing anti-war messages during Operation Sindoor.
Lora worked in the university’s Career Development Centre. In May, some students allegedly leaked her WhatsApp status calling for peace along with her phone number and photograph to right-wing social media accounts. Following this, she was subjected to online harassment, threatening calls and even death threats. The termination order accused her of making what the university described as “unethical remarks” against the armed forces and of presenting herself online as an assistant professor of SRMIST. The order said she was no longer fit to continue in her job and that her dismissal would take effect immediately.
The inquiry was carried out by a committee headed by Dr Nisha Ashokan, the Director of Student Affairs. Dr Prince Kalyanasundaram, the Deputy Director of Student Affairs, acted as the presenting officer. Hearings were held on the Kattankulathur campus from July 15 to September 26, and the committee submitted its findings to the registrar on October 30.
Lora, who is a Dalit Christian, had first been suspended on May 8. Her personal details were leaked after she posted a peace message on WhatsApp, leading to accusations that she had insulted the Indian Army and acted against national interest. The rising hostility forced her to leave Chennai and return to her hometown, Kallakurichi, for safety.
On May 7, Lora had posted twelve WhatsApp status messages criticising the calls for war between India and Pakistan. Beginning early that morning, she shared quotes, warnings and fact-checks, including a reminder about the human cost of conflict and a George Orwell quote on propaganda. She also pointed out fake social media profiles pretending to be Army officers and asked people not to spread their posts. Although she shared twelve messages, only two of them were widely circulated outside her contacts.
On June 16, a charge memo was issued accusing her of making inappropriate comments about the armed forces, acting against the nation and disturbing the peaceful environment of the university. The memo also accused her of involvement in activities the committee described as “criminal” and “antisocial”, which it deemed major misconduct.
Lora denied all the charges. She told the committee that her views were misunderstood and that her remarks were not against the country. She explained that she had never linked her WhatsApp account to her job, had not mentioned the university in any post and had used her personal number. She emphasised that WhatsApp statuses are temporary and are not public social media posts.
Despite her explanations, the committee claimed that all five charges were proven. The order said that during questioning, Lora confirmed she had posted the messages in her personal capacity. The committee concluded that because she did not demonstrate that she had not tagged the university in any way, all accusations stood proven.
The termination order stated that after reviewing the documents and evidence, the inquiry officer had established all the charges against her. Lora has been given thirty days to appeal to the vice chancellor.
Reacting to her dismissal, Lora told TNM that the entire inquiry was a formality and that she had been made a scapegoat. She said the university had never shown her any message in which she had identified herself as a professor and that the screenshots used against her had no timestamps or source details. She described the allegations as false and unlawful. She also said that the law officer, Ravi, who was present during her questioning and allegedly dictated the proceedings, was not mentioned in the final report. Lora added that she had filed criminal complaints against those who targeted her online, but none of it was acknowledged by the committee.
Meanwhile, TNM reported that the Maraimalai Nagar police have summoned SRM University’s registrar, Dr S Ponnuswamy, after Lora submitted a petition to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s special cell.
