BENGALURU: It was a day marked by protests at Indian Institute of Science (IISc) during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the campus.
Not content with the way fellowship hikes have been doled out by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the PhD students staged a hunger strike on Wednesday.
Elsewhere on the campus, students voiced their opinions against the recurring derogatory comments made by the minister and the representatives of his government targeting the science fraternity.
The protest by the research fellows came against the backdrop of the ministry’s notification regarding fellowship hikes.
Contrary to what was promised in October last year, the ministry has notified that a uniform hike would be offered to both junior and senior research fellows.
Secretary of academic affairs in the student council at IISc Pankaj Jain said, “Earlier, we were promised hikes for different levels. A junior researcher earning a stipend of Rs 16,000 per month and a senior earning Rs 18,000 would get Rs 25,000 and Rs 28,000 respectively.”
“But now they have made it uniform for both the juniors and the seniors, offering Rs 25,000 per month. Similarly, those armed with professional masters degree will get only Rs 28,000. This is unfair,” he added.