On May 8 at 3 pm, Lora Shanthakumar, Assistant Professor at Chennai’s SRM University’s Career Development Centre (CDC), was summoned by her Head of the Department (HoD). This was exactly a day after India launched Operation Sindoor— tactical and calculated strikes against terror hubs in Pakistan.

As Lora headed to the department with her colleague, her phone kept ringing constantly. When she finally answered it, it turned out to be a video call, and on the other end, they could hear people laughing loudly and saying, “Ma’am, we are your friends; show us your face. We want to see your face,” Lora’s colleague, who was with her at the time, told TNM. 

Lora’s colleague said that the video call was made by a group of students to taunt her, as the university management had placed her under suspension for what they claimed were ‘unethical activities’. This was a day after her social media posts on ‘Operation Sindoor’ went viral. 

Lora, a Dalit Christian from Kallakurichi district, was punished by the university management for expressing anti-war views. Right-wing handles on X took portions of her WhatsApp status messages and shared them on social media platforms, accusing her of speaking against the Indian armed forces. 

While Lora's suspension garnered significant media attention, TNM has found that her harassment persists, including demands for her to vacate her home. Disturbingly, TNM also learnt that individuals from within her own university, who possessed her phone number, approached a right-wing social media account to dox her.

A professor at SRM University told TNM that Lora was unaware of the campaign by right-wing groups until she was placed under suspension.

What did Lora post?

On May 7, Lora shared a series of messages as WhatsApp statuses opposing the calls for war during the India-Pakistan conflict. Lora first posted a message at around 7 am.