A breakdown of the Aarey Forest conservation movement of Mumbai, in light of the current global climate crisis.
The Aarey Colony protests began on 5th October 2019, after the Bombay High Court (HC) allowed the Mumbai Metro to
cut nearly 2,500 trees to build a car shed for the new Mumbai Metro constructions in the vicinity. The HC’s move was in line with
a fine technicality that the Aarey Forest was not really a forest after all, but it was merely an urban cluster and hence it could
be felled for the purpose of establishing the Metro infrastructure. This move was met with severe backlash, as Mumbaikars
and green activists around the country opposed the felling of 2,500 trees that gave the much-needed respite from pollution
and heat to the residents of the colony.
The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) began to cut down trees in the area merely hours after the HC order, at odd hours of night in another move that faced resistance from citizens and environmental activists. The Mumbai police arrested close to 29 people on the charges of allegedly obstructing and assaulting police personnel at this protest. Many people, including several celebrities, took to social media to express their support with the activists protesting in the Aarey Colony. After these events, a special hearing on the matter was scheduled with the Supreme Court (SC) and, as a result, Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was implemented in Aarey Colony. Although lifted for the hearing, the section was later reimposed after the hearing.
The Apex Court, this past week, restrained authorities from cutting any more trees in Mumbai’s Aarey. A special bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and Ashok Bhushan said that it would have to examine the entire matter closely, and it extended the date of the next hearing to 21st October, which would take place before its forest bench. The court also ordered the Mumbai Police to release all the activists who were arrested in the past two days.
The SC recorded an undertaking by the Maharashtra State Government, where it was assured that no more trees would be felled in Aarey. The SC observed that “…it appears that Aarey was some kind of forest at some time,” taking note of the 2012 Management Plan for the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, which describes Aarey as an unclassified forest.
The Court further lashed at the Maharashtra State Government, “Tell us how many saplings you planted? How have they grown? What’s the status of your forests?” The Apex Court’s question came after the Mumbai Metro claimed that it had planted around 24,000 saplings to replace the trees it had cut in Aarey. The court asked the state authorities to also produce a mandatory afforestation report.
Rishav Ranjan — the law student whose letter to the Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, was converted into a suo motu writ petition for the matter — has requested MMRCL Managing Director, Ashwini Bhide, to desist from any construction work in the area until the next SC hearing on 21st October.
Complex climate change situations necessitate nuanced interventions. However, for the most part, India has resorted to afforestation without consulting local communities or conducting serious impact assessment studies. In light of the latest global climate crisis, a Global Climate Risk Index released at the Katowice summit in Katowice, Poland, in 2018 showed that intense cyclones, excessive rainfall, and severe floods could make India and its neighbours among the worst affected countries in the world. This leads to the conclusion that afforestation is not enough. The
effects of climate change in tandem with the development agenda require a two-pronged, well-researched, and balanced
approach that needs to be initiated by the governments at grass-root levels.
The lanes near Jantar Mantar and Parliament Street flooded with protestors as the Centre issued the news of the abrogation of Article 35A, and Article 370 which granted a special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
This morning, Home Minister Amit Shah announced in the Rajya Sabha, that Article 35A, and Article 370 which grants the state of Jammu & Kashmir special status are to be abrogated. As the hours went on, the bill was passed.
The move leaves Jammu and Kashmir as a union territory with its own legislature. Ladakh would also be a union territory, but without its own assembly.
Since 4th August, Kashmir has been under lockdown with a complete shutdown of internet, broadband, and cellular services. Many Kashmiris across the world have said their indefinite goodbyes to their loved ones, unaware of when the ban would be lifted. Fear, anxiety, and paranoia have gripped the valley as news of deployment of thousands of paramilitary forces spreads out. Tourists and pilgrims have been asked to leave the state immediately, in the face of intelligence reports alleging a terror threat.
On 5th August, as the news of abrogation spread like wildfire throughout the University, student organisations took it upon themselves to celebrate, and resist.
As the ABVP celebrated the move near Arts Faculty with sweets and dhol, Left-leaning parties like the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), All India Students’ Federation (AISF) and All India Students’ Association (AISA) gathered around Jantar Mantar to protest against the move. The impromptu protest which was organised within two hours saw hundreds of gatherers with placards, demanding that the Articles be reinstated. A Kashmiri student who requested to stay anonymous said, “I’m speechless, I don’t know what else to say.”
The protest also saw prominent leaders of the CPI (M), like Sitaram Yechury and Brinda Karat. As cries of ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ echoed through the Parliament Street, the protesters burnt an effigy in an attempt to defame the Modi government.
“I was thinking that this might happen since it was a part of the BJP’s manifesto, but deep down, I didn’t want it to happen. It’s only about the territory now, not the people,” said Hayder, a student.
Due to the communication blackout, students have been unable to reach out to their loved ones. Almost every Kashmiri student remembers the exact time they last reached out to their family.
Residents of Kashmir are yet to find out about the abrogation.
Speaking to DU Beat, Dipankar Bhattacharya, the General Secretary of CPI (ML) called the move as a ‘constitutional coup’ and ‘a complete travesty of truth and justice’. “I think this is a warning to every Indian of the shape of things to come, and these things are coming conspitarioly, but are coming rather fast. This is an adventurous way of governing. This is a recipe for disaster. It’s a time-bomb ticking away for the rest of India. Just because it was a part of the BJP manifesto and that they won the popular mandate doesn’t mean that the whole of India supports this move,” added Bhattacharya.
Ehthemam, a student of Jamia Milia Islamia called the move ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘illegal’. “The army and state repression has been high in Kashmir, with the cellular and internet shutdowns, it only increases the paranoia over human rights violations in the valley. They want control of Kashmir’s resources which is why they choose to abrogate Articles 35A and Article 370. The abrogation is impractical and will only worsen the conflict.”
Kawalpreet Kaur, the president of AISA, Delhi State added “This is illegal and should be challenged in court. This protest showed us that people aren’t happy with what happened today.”
Kaur declared that the resistance would carry on in the form of another protest march on the 7th of August, from Mandi House to Parliament Street.
“The curfew will be lifted some day, people will come to know, how long will you repress us for? What happened today was unconstitutional,” said a Kashmiri woman addressing the gathering.
Home Minister Amit Shah has assured the opposition in the Rajya Sabha: full statehood at ‘appropriate time’ after ‘normalcy’ returns. But for a state which has been militarized for decades, what is defined as ‘normal’? Amidst internet shutdowns and pellet guns, where does the Kashmiri identity go?
The continuing problems related to admissions in the varsity have raised several questions on the functionality of the administration.
Student organisations Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and National Students Union of India (NSUI) of the University of Delhi (DU) have voiced their concerns and demonstrated against the DU Vice Chancellor regarding the difficulties faced by students during the time of admissions. The demonstation also sought to question the fee hike that has taken place for almost all courses in the University.
ABVP has voiced the concerns of the students by protesting at the Arts Faculty, addressing various issues related to admissions. The increment in college fees has been challenged along with irregularity in Sports Category admissions. Provision of admission by accepting undertaking, and introduction of EWS category in M. Phil/ PhD admissions has been requested. Importantly, inadequate arrangement in colleges for parents at the time of the admission process are some of the issues amongst other key issues that have been raised by the ABVP.
They (ABVP) has brought into the limelight how the admission staff in colleges who were admitting students to the first cut-off were not aware of the rules prescribed by the University. This caused problems in the smooth functioning during the admissions process. Admissions of students were also cancelled due to loopholes in the admission process.
Siddharth Yadav, the State Secretary of ABVP Delhi, said that if the demands are not met within the time period of ten days, then there will be more resolute protests against the administration.
DUSU President Shakti Singh also highlighted the issue of fee hike by saying, “There has been an arbitrary unaccounted fee increase in many DU colleges.” The issue Ramjas College’s fee hike has been previously reported on by DU Beat.
A memorandum to the Dean of Students Welfare had been submitted after the protest ended by the the ABVP delegation.
Attempts have been made by the student organisations so that the DU admission process does not become tedious and burdensome for the students. The true effects of the protests remain to be seen.
Delhi University has an active atmosphere of protests almost every other week or month. Hence, protests have almost become a part of DU life! Here’s a throwback at some impactful protests that shook DU.
Library Union
Deriving from a letter to the VC (Vice Chancellor) the Delhi University and Colleges Library Employees Association (DUCLEA) protested early in August to initiate the implementation of the Recruitment Rules Review Committee Rules and the ACP/MACP Pay Scale Committee Report. A lot of other demands like removal of library attendance system from college libraries were also raised. However, the familiar stalling of rightful demands has led to the stagnation of the report for over 18 (now 26) months.
Featured Image Credits: Namrata Randhawa for DU Beat
DSJ
Constantly headlining the campus news flash, Delhi School.of Journalism has seen one of its most charged years given to resistance, as yet. The struggles of DSJ students to attain a reasonable quality of education by requesting the concerned authorities to justify the hefty fees were multiple but in vain; ineffective due to delay in “administrative/authoritative approval”. A month later in September, 2018, inability to fulfill the previously promised valid concerns of the students led to another round of suspension of classes and oppression of the crusaders protesting in the DSJ campus.
Feature Image Credits: Neerav
Young India Adhikar March (YIAM)
Inspired by the Kisan Mukti March, this march saw students from all over the country marching from the Red Fort to Parliament Street on the 7th of February.
Featured Image Credits: Jaishree Kumar for DU Beat
People’s March
Barely a fortnight after YIAM, students, teachers and unions marched in solidarity from Mandi house to Parliament Street to protect public higher funded education. The march was led by Delhi University Teachers’ Union (DUTA) along with various other organisations.
Featured Image Credits: Adithya Khanna for DU Beat
V-Tree Protests at Hindu College
On 14 February, massive protests erupted in an attempt to disrupt, if not stop, the annual ‘Virgin Tree pooja’ tradition of Hindu College. Members of Pinjra Tod, SFI and Hindu College Progressive Front jointly protested and clashed against supporters of the pooja, mainly students of the Boys’ Hostel. The protests, widely covered by the media, had led to a few scuffles.
Featured Image Credits- Prateek Pankaj for DU Beat
Mathematics Department Protests
Mass failures in the examinations for MSc Mathematics had rocked the department. They received their results on 8 February and had started protesting on 14 February. The protesters demanded to be shown copies of the answer sheets along with an independent investigation, among other things. Various other departments in addition to the Mathematics Department and organisations like AISA, SFI, KYS, and DSU joined the protests.
Featured Image Credits- Anoushka Sharma for DU Beat
DRC hostel protests
On the 23rd of February, protests broke out at the hostel gate of Daulat Ram College after mishaps at the college hostel and the rampant culture of hatred and sexism. The protesters demanded basic rights which were being violated by the DRC hostel board. The fight continued on to the next day, the 24th, when residents marched from their hostel gate towards the Vice Chancellor’s office and staged a sit down.
Featured Image Credits- Pragati Thapa for DU Beat
DUTA Protests
The Delhi University Teachers’ Association had carried out sustained protests since the beginning of the year and even before that, against issues like the 13 point roster system, privatisation and the needs of ad-hoc teachers. Human chains, candlelight marches, ‘total strikes’ and a ‘Bharat Bandh’ were few of the measures adopted by the association and its supporters. The protests succeeded in bringing an ordinance by the government on 8 March to restore the old 200 point roster system.
An account on how the poems of a Punjabi Leftist poet sparked up a chain of protests in the University’s Punjabi Department.
“We fought for very basic democratic rights which we think must be provided to the students of a public institution like Delhi University.” Those are straightforward and to-the-point lines from Rajveer Kaur, the president of the student body, Bhagat Singh Chatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM). It has been a tumultuous time recently for Rajveer and her peers at the organisation getting involved in gheraos, hunger strikes and, tussles against the administration. What prompted all this? For this, we will have to rewind to a few months back.
It was in March when the first signs of trouble began showing. Rajveer, who also happens to be an MPhil scholar in the Punjabi Department of the University of Delhi, had to make a statement on behalf of her organisation and stuck a magazine at a wall and notice board; a work containing the poetry of noted Punjabi poet Avtar Singh Pash and ideas of India’s celebrated martyr Bhagat Singh. For the unacquainted, Pash was a wordsmith known for his strongly Leftist views which he expressed in his works. This angered the Head of Department who ordered this ‘revolutionary’ paraphernalia to be taken down instantly. Rajveer’s act won her a trip to the HoD’s office along with an unwanted complimentary threat of being rusticated if she ever indulged in any such act again. And to top it all, she along with her colleague Manpreet, was detained in the upcoming examination. This is from where the first hunger strike began.
From this personal prejudice rose some personal demands like setting up a committee to look into the biasness towards Rajveer and Manpreet, and some department demands as well such as improvement of basic infrastructural facilities in the Department and to keep all official notices and syllabi in the Punjabi vernacular. It was also asked for the Head of Department to apologise for her behaviour. To compel the administration to accept all the demands, the student organisation took to protesting. Subsequently in a response, the authorities would agree to all the conditions, but only to deny all of it later. And like (almost) every time, the administration agreed to these demands and later denied them.
The heat increased and in these cold months, more gheraos around the administration’s office and a four-day hunger strike (from 24th to 29th November) took place. “The administration tried to break the students’ unity through various repressive methods like even denying the mats and blankets for our night stay. Still we were adamant that unless all our demands are met, we won’t give up.”, Rajveer adds.
As of today, the HoD called a meeting for the MPhil committee at noon. The result of this was holding a re-examination in January, for the paper in which Rajveer got detained. It was also declared that the department would act in the matter of making signboards and official notes in Punjabi and changing the HoD for Manpreet. Although, the BSCEM is celebrating at the moment looking at today as a victory, would the Punjabi Department actually live by its words? That is what will be seen in the coming days.
A couple of days back, the administration of the University of Delhi (DU) speculated the establishment of nine institutions which would impart specialised courses. However, the student community claims that before opening new institutions, the government must look at the infrastructural issues that the recently opened institute, the Delhi School of Journalism (DSJ), has been facing ever since its inception last year.
Located in the University Stadium Campus, the college has been at the locus of violent student agitations. The major cause of resentment amongst the student fraternity is the alleged lack of infrastructure that the administration had promised them. The institute, belonging to the self-financing genre, charges exorbitant sums of money as tuition fee from the students with amounts reaching well beyond INR 65,000. The pupils allege that even after paying such stupendous sums of money, they’re not being provided the infrastructure that had been promised to them. Following this, an agitation had broken out in the last week of August 2018, wherein the students had reportedly remained on a strike against the administration for two days, and it was alleged that the students had been locked inside the campus during the night hours.
The management at the Delhi School of Journalism had also suspended 8 students in this connection, which was then revoked in response to the withdrawal of the students from the protests. This reportedly came subsequent to the intervention of the OSD and the VC. Only after the student community was assured that a concrete solution shall be found to the problem, the protests were called off.
The administration, however, seems to have had put the case aside once the agitations were over. The DSJ student body alleges that the Vice Chancellor neither met with the student body nor addressed their issues. Fresh protests in order to have the demands met, however, broke out in DSJ on 18th September 2018. The furious student fraternity stood as a united front against the administration. It is said that a meeting held with the Proctor on 14th September 2018 turned out to be a conduit of dispute and agitation. Allegedly, the Proctor shook her hands off the earlier promise, stating that she can’t promise the redressing of even a single of the demands on the student manifesto, be it the construction of a library, construction of a hostel, or even the Media Lab which is considered ‘food’ for students pursuing journalism.
The students claim that they find the college area too cluttered. They add that in the absence of a library, it becomes tough for them to access adequate resource material pertaining to their discipline, and the absence of a reading room in the already cluttered campus makes it difficult for the students to engage in any productive self-study at the college.
The situation, however, took a different route altogether, when, during the newly erupted volcano of protests, a second-year student and agitator, Ambuj Bharedwaj, was arrested by the Delhi Police, which had been called in by the DSJ administration to curb the protests. It is claimed that the student was dragged by his neck openly in the college by the policemen and was brutally thrashed by the police while in custody. The students feel that the management is adopting the use of force and physical penuries to curb their right to something they have already paid for in full. Thus, according to the student fraternity, their upsurge wasn’t trampled upon by the false promises made on the management’s end. In fact, it gained a new impetus because of the use of police force. Hence, the students have decided to remain in DSJ’s campus through the night on protests, with eyes looking desperately for a solution to their problem.
DU Beat tried reaching out to the administration at the Delhi School of Journalism, but that didn’t prove feasible. Hence, their take on the matter shall be updated here as and when it is procured.
The DRCSU Election 2018-19 presented itself all enveloped in controversies. A new face of politics revealed itself to the students as they fought, protested, won, and lost.
The Daulat Ram College Students’ Union (DRCSU) Election was held on 10th September 2018 and the voting hours were between 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Here are some major and vital highlights of the same:
The Absence of NOTA
“I entered the hall to cast my vote with the above-mentioned prospects of a ‘democracy’ clear in my mind, only to realise that a violation of these prospects was waiting for me in the form of an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) where there was no option of ‘None of the Above’ (NOTA). I voted only for candidates whom I believed were worthy of voting. As I made my way out of the little space reserved for voting, a teacher told me to cast my vote for all the posts. I told her that I wanted to vote only for two posts. But then, I was informed that voting for each post was a compulsion. Apparently, the vote wouldn’t be recognised if one person from each post was not voted for.”
In a survey conducted by DU Beat, among Daulat Ram College (DRC) students which asked ‘Do you think the option of “None of the Above” (NOTA) should have been there while voting?’ 80.1% marked their opinion as a ‘Yes’, out of the 500 people who participated in the survey. The whole purpose of having NOTA as an option is to provide the voters with a space to express that they do not find any of the candidates contesting the election deserving. NOTA gives us an explicit insight into a picture of the elections. It creates scope for future candidates to improve their ways.
Mismanagement
In the DRCSU Elections, students had to wait for more than 2 hours to cast their vote, in a humid and crowded corridor. A few voters standing in the queue were seen backing out too. “The entire scenario could have been avoided if voting happened in slots. Subject wise, we could all be made into groups and asked to vote. It would have created much less havoc”, a second-year student who chose to stay anonymous suggested when asked how the situation could be improved.
Ill-working of the EVMs
As mentioned before, it was mandatory for the voters to select one person each for every post. The vote would be invalid if not cast for each post. According to this, the number of votes for each post should be equal. However, it was not so. A recent count of the votes says that there is a difference of about 200 votes between the post of General Secretary (GS) and others. Meaning, there are 200 more votes for the post of GS as compared to others. How and why such a discrepancy occurred is unknown but it sure questions the spirit of the voters.
When asked about the working of the EVMs, a few voters were reported saying that some of the buttons on the machine weren’t working when they pressed them. A little here and there is still something that can be understood. But a difference of 200 votes may turn all the tables.
The Controversy: Where it started
The candidates contesting for the prestigious post of college President were in a tussle long before the elections even began. Neha Beniwal, a presidential candidate allegedly claimed that unlike her, none of her opponents (Sonia Sehrawat and Diksha Verma) had the minimum percentage of attendance required to contest for the post. The shortage of attendance was a problem for several other candidates contesting for the posts of Vice-President as well. All the candidates were, just before the declaration of the nominations for DRCSU, made to sign undertakings promising the completion of 75% attendance in the ongoing semester, to be able to be eligible to contest in the elections. The college was, as a result, witness to a lot of protests and counter-protests.
The rivalry soon took an ugly turn. On the evening of 10th September, the results of the elections were declared and, Diksha Verma was elected as the President of the 2018-19 Students’ Union of Daulat Ram College. Out of the total votes cast (1439), she got 40% votes and won with the margin of 71 votes. The victory was celebrated by her supporters but was short-lived. She was questioned by the opponents from the panel, which won a significant majority in the DRCSU, but their presidential candidate, Sonia Sehrawat, had lost.
The most contentious matter however, was the result of the General Secretary post, wherein the total votes did not tally with the other posts, and an increment of 200 votes was seen.
The panel, along with their supporters, alleged that the EVMs were not working properly and demanded the recounting of votes, despite having tested the EVMs on their functionality on morning of the elections themselves. All electoral candidates were invited by the Election Commission to affirm the correct working of the EVMs, post which they signed a document, confirming the same.
They staged aggressive protests outside the Principal’s office on the evening of the elections, wherein things got violent as students banged the doors and the windows of the admin block, demanding an answer from the administration.
The 11th of September was a new day for everyone but it brought with it the putridity of protests. The other two candidates, along with their followers assembled outside the staff room of the college, sat there and shouted slogans. Interestingly, the protests questioned Diksha Verma’s win, rather than questioning the working of EVMs. “Diksha Verma nahi chahiye” (We don’t want Diksha Verma) “Goondaraj nahi chahiye” (We don’t want hooliganism), were some slogans that the students were heard shouting. Most of them, it is believed, belonged to the college hostel.
This protest witnessed around 100 students blocking the corridor of the college, as they were sitting outside Lab 5, the room in which the Students’ Advisory Board (SAB) was deliberating the fate of the elections. The protesters were joined by Debangana Baruah, who was the DRCSU President from 2014-15, and Nandita Nain, who was a presidential candidate in 2017. Both ex-students of the college were seen enticing the students and motivating them to raise such slogans. This practice raised several concerns as it is a clear violation of the Lyngdoh Committee Recommendations Clause 6.3.1.
Nandita Nain (ex-student, in white, with a black bag), seen with Sonia Sehrawat, the opposing Presidential candidate (standing next to Nandita) during the protest.Debangana Baruah (in a green kurta), the Ex-President of DRC in the college during the protest.
Later, a demand for re-elections was also raised by the protesters. The Election Committee agreed to it and informally announced the scheduling of the re-elections to be held on the 13th of September, 2018. However, no such notice was delivered officially to the students from the administration or the Principal. The protesters rejoiced and dispersed, and the news of the re-elections, which was still not confirmed officially, spread like wild fire.
The evening of 12th September, brought about a message from the convenor of the SAB, calling all electoral candidates to the committee room of the college on 13th of September, at 10 a.m. The SAB along with the Principal of the college addressed all the queries and concerns of the candidates, they were re-assured that the elections have been carried out in a fair manner, with discrepancies in the post of General Secretary, which were caused due to a fault in the buttons of that specific post. The meeting resulted in the official declaration of Diksha Verma as the President of DRCSU 2018-19. The solution for the matter of General Secretary was not that of a re-election, but the inculcation of all three electoral candidates in DRCSU as the General Secretary.
The official notice was uploaded on the DRC website after the meeting.
The Oath Taking Ceremony was held on 14th September, wherein only the President, General Secretary, and ICC member participated. Meanwhile, the opposition continued their protest outside the college building demanding “justice.”
Diksha Verma, during the official oath taking ceremony held today.
Feature Image Credits – Students of Daulat Ram College
After more than 48 hours of continuous protest and withdrawal of the suspension of 8 students by the administration, students have been assured that their grievances will be addressed on 14th September 2018.
On Monday, 27th August 2018, the students of Delhi School of Journalism staged a protest outside the Arts Faculty demanding a meeting with the Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi. The protest began when Professor JP Dubey on Friday, 24th August 2018 told the students that the administration cannot give a deadline to any of the demands of the students and they should do whatever they want to in their capacity. The students have time and again protested about the poor infrastructure facilities, unavailability of the media lab and the high fees and wanted to meet the VC regarding the same.
Image Credits – DSJ students
The protest was then shifted in the DSJ campus where the students protested against the administration and their behaviour towards the charter of demands issued by the students on 2nd August 2018.Mohd Alishan Jaffri, a second year student of DSJ says, “We launched a complete non co-operation movement against the DSJ administration and organized a sit-in in the college premises. The whole act was peaceful and Gandhian in nature. The administration tried to move us, but since no written assurance was provided, we continued the protest.”
On the same day, a meeting was organized by the administration to look into the matter again, but the meeting ended in a deadlock. The students continued their sit in demonstration in the evening and few stayed inside the college campus overnight.
DSJ students
The agitation continued on 28th August 2018. The administration agreed to send a delegation of 6 students to meet the VC and present their grievances to him. However, in the evening, this proposal was rejected. The students were also locked inside the college campus. The situation worsened when the students were manhandled by the security guards of the college. Ambuj Bhardwaj, a second year student was hit by one of the guards. Delhi Police was called in to intimidate the protestors both in afternoon and in the evening.
DSJ students
A suspension letter was issued to 8 students of DSJ around 8 p.m. on 28th August 2018 for repeatedly violating the discipline of the Delhi University while disrupting the classes since August 27 and not letting administration to carry on their official work by blocking the entrance to the Director’s room. However, the revocation to the suspension came in half an hour after protest was called off by the students. The same was conveyed to the students through an e-mail late at night.
Neeta Sehgal, Proctor, University of Delhi came and discussed the matter with the students. She also gave a written assurance to the students to look into the matter and solve the grievances of the students. She has promised to meet the students on 14th September 2018.
DSJ students
Manasvini Yogi, OSD, Delhi School of Journalism informed the students on 29th August 2018 that a media lab has been arranged for the students in the School of Open Learning. The practicals will be held in the lab from 15th September 2018 onwards.
The ongoing protest against the leaked SSC papers has now been joined by student political units AISA and NSUI.
In a development considered ‘supportive’ by observers, leaders of the political units AISA (All India Student’s Association) and NSUI (National Student’s Association of India) joined the students protesting against the alleged leak of Staff Selection Commission (SSC) exam papers, on 16th March 2018.
The indefinite protest over the examination, which was conducted in February, has witnessed hundreds of aspirants protesting in the CGO complex, which houses the SSC headquarters. Since February 27, they have been demanding a time-bound CBI probe under the supervision of the Supreme Court into all SSC exams and the commission’s functioning. Secondly, they are demanding a stay order on all SSC exams until completion of CBI inquiry into the matter.
Responding to queries from the DU Beat correspondent, DUSU President Rocky Tuseed, who was present with the protesting students on Friday said, “We demand the suspension of SSC Chairman Ashim Khurana, and the resignation of Minister Jitendra Singh. The fight is not only against the isolated incident of leaked papers. Besides this, the SSC has delayed the joining of candidates who qualified two years ago. These anomalies speak volumes about the incompetence of the board and the government. ”
Speaking along similar lines with the DU Beat correspondent, President of AISA (DU) Kawalpreet Kaur, who was also present on the site of protest, remarked, “The students are not only demanding a CBI probe into this particular incident. They are linking this protest to a larger struggle against the numerous recruitment scams which are happening.”
When the correspondent mentioned the political mudslinging revolving this issue, Kaur stated, “Somebody has to take responsibility. It has been 15-18 days that the students have been sitting here. Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said that a CBI enquiry has been ordered. But the students are not satisfied because nothing is progressing.”
In a phone call conversation with this correspondent, Vice President of DUSU Kunal Sehrawat, said, “The students have taken to the streets to demand justice. Itna Time Ho Chuka Hai (It has been so long). The government must take responsibility. The student community has our full support.”
The protesters, today, were reinforced by the presence of Fairoz Khan, National President of NSUI and Sucheta De, National President of AISA, besides other prominent leaders. Shedding light on a different version of the scam, Chairman of SSC Ashim Khurana contended, “We have knowledge that certain coaching institutes are manipulating and escalating the protest. Once the exam is cancelled, they may offer a crash course to candidates’ ace it earning quick bucks in the process.”
Amidst the mudslinging being undertaken by the administration, one beacon of hope is provided by the student political units standing against the grave injustice being meted out to the aspirants, thus paving the way for a united student community at the face of a divided administration.
The Delhi Police on Thursday detained nine students of the Banaras Hindu University, including a woman, who were on their way from Jantar Mantar to the Prime Minister’s official house to submit a memorandum at the Pancharipuri Police Station. However, no charges were being slapped against them. The students are members of the recently constituted Joint Action Committee (JAC) at BHU, who sought to make an appointment with the PM.
“When we could not get the appointment we decided to submit the memorandum to his Secretary. We were at Race Course when police detained us. We were simply walking at Race Course Road and there was no protest. We kept on asking them about the ground over which we were arrested, however, police did not say anything. I was made to sit in a bus even as there was no female constable with them at the time of the detention” said Mineshi Mishra, a BHU student. The students also complained that the police threatened them.
Senior Delhi police officers revealed the students had been protesting for the last three days. “When they tried to march towards the PM’s residence eight boys were detained and later let off and another girl, who was along with them, was released then and there as it was getting dark. We have not told any students to return to Banaras,” said BK Singh, DCP, New Delhi, as reported by DNA India.
