The impasse between the administration and protesting students at the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) entered its ninth day on Monday.
Though classes commenced at 9.30 am, groups of students disrupted the classes and a few teachers were threatened by the students of the ‘struggle committee’ formed in solidarity with the suicide of Mudassir Kamran.
“We were compelled to bring teachers out of the classes in the name of justice. We were even abused by them,” said a student, adding that an RTI will be filed to check on the number of class hours conducted by each faculty member and the increase in dropouts.
However, from Tuesday onwards, the struggle committee has decided not to disrupt classes in view of the approaching end-semester examinations.
The suicide, committed by Mudassir Kamran on March 2, have had led to protests in his native district at Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir as it is alleged that he was picked out owing to his regional minority status and political beliefs. The student associations at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, extended its support to the deceased at Andhra Bhavan.
The Dalit students body at University of Hyderabad (UoH) held a protest against the recent statement by UoH vice-chancellor Professor Ramakrishna Ramaswamy, which indicated that it was an administrative issue blown out of proportion.
Though there was no police deployed to prevent the students from staging the protest, assistant commissioner of police
J. Ranjan Rathan Kumar visited the campus and asked student representatives and administration to resolve the impasse soon.
The students seemed unrelenting in their demand for removal of Professor Harish Vijra, who allegedly chided Kamran for being homosexual and sought police intervention.
While the fact-finding committee appointed by EFLU vice-chancellor Professor Sunaina Singh is likely to be tabled on Wednesday, the students allege that an impartial report cannot be expected.
“Most of the members of the committee are colleagues and peers of Professor Vijra and they would not comment freely on the issue.
Also, it does not have any student representatives. The vice- chancellor has threatened us with a zero semester if we disrupt the classes any further. Such a provision does not exist even in the UGC guidelines,” said a student on condition of anonymity.
“The classes were held as usual and I was present on the field. The classes will go on tomorrow as well and the report will be submitted in a few days,” said the vice-chancellor.