THE Osmania University, which had become a virtual battlefield for more than a week during TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao’s fast is limping back to normalcy.
After more than a fortnight, university authorities opened classrooms on Monday and students are slowly trickling into the campus.
Though the number of students attending classes is less, the buzzword in the campus still remains a separate Telangana.
It wasn’t academics but politics that ruled conversations. Students discussed the developments at the Centre regarding separate statehood and also Vijayawada Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagopal’s agitation in the city.
It was on November 29 that the campus turned into a war zone after Chandrasekhar Rao was arrested and his plan to go on an indefinite fast at Siddipet foiled. Students of the OU campus led the agitation for a separate statehood.
Since then, the gates of the campus were closed to the general public and students lay siege to the sprawling premises. A day before the proposed Chalo Assembly on December 10, Central Paramilitary forces and Police managed to gain control of the campus and evacuated students from the hostels.
The campus which was closed on November 29 appeared to be crawling back to life once again on Monday.
“There are very few students in the hostels. They are mostly staying put in their hostels and watching TV to keep themselves updated about the developments related to a separate Telangana,” A Venkat, a PhD scholar said.
Students leaders, professors and lecturers debated on the statehood issue in classrooms, lawns and chai bandis dotting the campus.
“Even if the revised schedule for examinations is announced, it is unlikely that the students will concentrate on academics anytime soon,” a student union leader said.
hareeshp@expressbuzz.com
