HYDERABAD: Unhappy with the lack of response from the administration even after eight days of protest and boycott, the students of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Hyderabad have scaled up the protest with three students undertaking an indefinite hunger strike from Monday. The number is likely to multiply on Tuesday.
To add insult to injury, students who had earlier alleged that they were humiliated by the off-campus administration by skirting the issue said that despite the students being on the hunger strike for more than nine hours, the administration is yet to approach them—a claim the administration has vehemently denied.
“It is incredulous that they are still asking for more time to release official statement instead of trying to coax students to call off the strike. We are tired of hearing the same response from the administration here that they are just following orders,” said C Krishnanath, a student.
Talks fall flat
Students are therefore demanding that Shalini Bharat, director, TISS should visit the campus and resolve their twin demands - deferment of the BA course and rollback of the removal of the residential tag of the Institute. The hunger strike comes after the talks between the two members of the Hyderabad Students’ Council with the director failed.
Double trouble
In addition to the unrest, the administration is also worried that if the protest is not resolved at the earliest, it would become difficult for them to even arrange for a campus to run the course when the arrangement with TSIRD, from where the institute temporarily operates, lapses in April.