New Delhi, Oct 22 Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislators V Sivadasan and John Brittas have sought urgent intervention by authorities to address the demands of students protesting at the Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in West Bengal.
The CPI(M) MPs also cited concerns over student representation, campus safety and disciplinary action against the young protesters.
In a letter to Jamia Millia Vice-Chancellor Mazhar Asif on October 21, Sivadasan urged the university administration to engage with students on an indefinite hunger strike demanding restoration of the students’ union, which was dissolved nearly two decades ago.
The hunger strike and recent developments on the campus underline the need for constructive engagement between students and the administration, Sivadasan said, calling for a time-bound process to restore elected student representation.
The MP said students faced concerns relating to academic facilities, attendance policies, condition of hostels, scholarships and research stipends. He argued that an elected union would provide a democratic platform to raise grievances and participate in decisions affecting their welfare.
Sivadasan also urged the administration to respect students’ right to express their concerns peacefully and resolve the situation through dialogue.
In a letter to Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi on October 21, MP John Brittas said students had been on an indefinite hunger strike since October 12, demanding resumption of elections and restoration of the students’ union.
Expressing concern over the rustication and suspension of protesting students, and reports of violence and manhandling during the agitation, he said these developments had aggravated tensions and raised questions about student safety.
“It is deeply concerning that Jamia Millia Islamia, a Central University established by an Act of Parliament, has remained without an elected students’ union for nearly two decades,” Brittas wrote, noting that the last elections were held in 2005 and the union was dissolved in 2006.
He cited constitutional provisions guaranteeing freedom of speech and association, University Grants Commission guidelines on students’ entitlements and the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations on student elections. He also referred to Sections 23(j) and 23(k) of the Jamia Millia Islamia Act, 1988, arguing that the university’s legal framework envisaged a students’ union and student participation in university affairs.
Brittas urged Joshi to take up the matter with the university administration and initiate steps to restore the union through free and fair elections, along with expeditious resolution of students’ outstanding grievances.
In a separate letter to Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Tourism Suresh Gopi, who is also the chairman of SRFTI, Brittas sought urgent intervention in the crisis at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata.
According to the letter, the crisis in SRFTI followed incidents on September 27 and October 4 involving members of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat and the Hindu Jagaran Manch, respectively. Brittas said students were verbally abused and physically assaulted during the September incident, while stones and bottles were reportedly hurled towards them during the October 4 march.
Brittas expressed concern over the administration’s handling of the incidents and its subsequent disciplinary action against protesting students. Six students were rusticated, and others were served show-cause notices, which led to an indefinite sit-in, he said.
The Left MP sought an independent inquiry into the attacks, alleged intimidation and manhandling, and reported attempts by staff to dictate the language the students should speak.
Brittas also called for the withdrawal of disciplinary action against students, dialogue with students’ union representatives and steps to address concerns over hostel accommodation, medical assistance for injured students, and rescheduling of classes and practical work lost during the disruption.
An institution dedicated to cinematic education and artistic freedom should not become “an arena of fear and coercion”, he said.
(PTI News)
