1. Gaslighting and Dismissal of Lived Reality
His Exact Words: "Why should I be offended if this your perception?"
Interpretation: By reducing your structural and academic challenges to a mere "perception," the professor invalidates your lived reality. Instead of asking what is wrong or why you feel this way, he frames the issue as a flaw in your outlook. It shifts the entire burden of proof onto you, suggesting that the problem isn't his classroom environment, but how you choose to see it.
2. The "Acceptable Casualty" Mindset
His Exact Words: "One of the first lessons I learnt as a teacher is that I cannot satisfy every one. I certainly lose a few every year."
Interpretation: This is perhaps the most damaging line. For a student from a marginalized community navigating an elite space like an IIM, being told you are part of a group he "certainly lose[s] every year" normalizes your exclusion. He views your struggle not as a pedagogical failure on his part, but as a routine statistical tax he is perfectly comfortable paying. He has preemptively given up on you.
3. Institutional Deflection
His Exact Words: "In IIM Kozhikode, we have just 30 hours available in 10 weeks to teach the core course in Marketing... By design the course is strategic and theoretical and do not have sufficient focus on the operating job..."
Interpretation: The professor hides behind institutional constraints. He uses the rigid 30-hour structure as an alibi for why his course is lacking. Instead of adapting his teaching to ensure no student is left behind within those 30 hours, he uses the system's flaws to justify his own lack of effort in supporting you.
4. Selective "Brutal Honesty" and Exploitation
His Exact Words: "What I want from you is a brutally honest introduction... Let us be straight forward, no window dressing..."
Interpretation: The hypocrisy here is glaring. He demands "brutally honest" content from you to enrich his curriculum, yet he completely rejected your brutally honest feedback about his classroom. He wants authenticity only when it serves his agenda, while actively "window-dressing" his own failure to support you by calling it a matter of "perception."
5. Weaponized Tokenism
His Exact Words: "I want them to identify with you, look up at you, a few years their elder, who seen it, done that--- but at the same time accessible and like them in a way."
Interpretation: He wants to weaponize your success and identity as a marketing resource for his classroom. He wants his students to see an accessible role model who has "seen it, done that," because it makes his course look successful. This is classic tokenism: he refuses to invest in your survival as a student, but is eager to showcase your achievements to build cultural and educational capital for his own brand.
6. Public Capitalization on Unpaid Labor
Exact Words: "Ideally, I would like to share the videos in YouTube. Please let me know if it is OK."
Interpretation: The ultimate transactional pivot. He is willing to allow a Dalit student to fall behind or be "lost" privately within the walls of IIM Kozhikode, but he wants to broadcast your intellect and professional labor publicly on YouTube for external validation.
Summary of the Subtext The subtext of his entire message boils down to this:
"I will not spend a single minute of my 30 hours helping you overcome the challenges you face in my class. However, I expect you to spend your personal time creating high-quality, free content for my syllabus and my social media, so I can look like a progressive, well-connected professor."
