Skip to main content

Top educationists support protesting Pune film institute students, insist Govt of India must "withdraw"

By Our Representative
Expressing solidarity with the protesting Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) students against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan to chair the top Pune institute, the All India Forum for the Right to Education (AIFRTE), the well-known educationists' body, has asked the Government of India to take "immediate corrective action" against his appointment and other "appointees to the governing council".
Insisting that these "should be withdrawn and appointments of credible persons following transparent procedures should immediately be undertaken", the AIFRTE said, "This is urgently required for what is involved is not the trivial issue of ‘face-saving’ for the government. It is the future of the country’s foremost academic, cultural and intellectual institutions which is at stake."
The AIFRTE has under its fold include Prof Sudarshan Iyengar, ex-Gujarat Vidyapeeth vice chancellor and a well known Gandhian; Prof Ram Puniyani of the All India Secular Forum, Mumbai; Dr BD Sharma of the Bharat Jan Andolan, Delhi; and top educationist Prof Anil Sadgopal.
Issuing a statement on the 87th day of the students' protest, AIFRTE said, the students have been "peacefully and patiently protesting against the politically motivated and non-transparent appointments by the central government of RSS members, associates and supporters to crucial positions of Chairman and members of the FTII Society which directly impact the credibility of this prestigious national institute and film school".
Issued in the context of supporting Abhijit Das, a faculty of the institute who is also its alumnus, for embarking on an indefinite hunger fast in support of the students. movement, the statement said, "At the expense of their professional training and their futures, the students have consistently and courageously stood up against a regime which is rapidly emerging as a threat to the country’s entire cultural and intellectual structure by placing a series of extremely mediocre but ideologically amenable and pliable persons in positions of authority in all national bodies".
"The sustained and principled struggle of the students of the FTII has in fact shown the country that their path of resistance is the only way to stop this trend. They are not only struggling to protect FTII but are defending the basic right of all our cultural and academic bodies and institutions to be assured of their intellectual and professional credibility", the statement said.
"The support across the country for the FTII students struggle is growing day by day. The Central Government should acknowledge and not aggravate its mistakes", the statement demanded, adding, the AIFRTE particularly takes exception to the "intemperate action taken by the Director and the authorities of the FTII in having summoned police onto the campus with non-bailable arrest warrants against students of the institute."
"Although the court later granted them bail, this shocking action, which could not have been taken without the support and tacit consent of Information & Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley, was the proverbial ‘midnight knock’ that is associated with all authoritarian regimes and shows the desperation of the government in handling a situation in which only its ineptitude and political bias have landed it", the statement said.

Comments

TRENDING

'Very low rung in quality ladder': Critique of ICMR study on 'sudden deaths' post-2021

By Bhaskaran Raman*  Since about mid-2021, a new phenomenon of extreme concern has been observed throughout the world, including India : unexplained sudden deaths of seemingly healthy and active people, especially youngsters. In the recently concluded Navratri garba celebrations, an unprecedented number of young persons succumbed to heart attack deaths. After a long delay, ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) has finally has published a case-control study on sudden deaths among Indians of age 18-45.

SC 'appears to foster' culture of secrecy, does not seek electoral bond details from SBI

By Rosamma Thomas*  In its order of November 2, 2023 on the case of Association for Democratic Reforms vs Union of India contesting constitutional validity of electoral bonds, the Supreme Court directed all political parties to give particulars of the bonds received by them in sealed covers to the Election Commission of India. SC sought that information be updated until September 2023. 

How national chauvinism 'overtook' sport despite cricketing glory of World Cup 2023

By Harsh Thakor*  The recently-concluded cricket World Cup was a testimony or manifestation of the thrills, intensity, twists and turns in sport and evolution of the game of cricket. It carried on the trend of the World Cups of yesteryears. Possibly, this was the best ever Indian team in a World Cup, and arguably amongst the best ever to contest a World Cup.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Only 12% of schools RTE compliant: Whither 6% budgetary allocation for education?

By Ambarish Rai* Despite Indian state’s commitment of 6% GDP on education, the Finance Minister completely ignored right to education for children and strengthening implementation of RTE Act which makes education a fundamental right in her budget speech . The Right to Education (RTE) Forum, which is a collective of different stakeholders in education, condemns this neglect of a legal entitlement, which is unconstitutional and demand for overall increase in the budget to ensure improvement in learning outcomes and overall enhancement of quality education.

Savarkar in Ahmedabad 'declared' two-nation theory in 1937, Jinnah followed 3 years later

By Our Representative One of the top freedom fighters whom BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi revere the most, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was also a great supporter of the two nation theory for India, one for Hindus another for Muslims, claims a new expose on the man who is also known to be the original proponent of the concept of Hindutva.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'Ambiguous policy': India late in advocating EVs as energy storage in national grid

By Shankar Sharma*  This is regarding the points raised by the Chief Electricity Authority’s (CEA's) advocacy for usage of electrical vehicles (EVs) as energy storage technology, and few associated issues . An objective reading of what he states should reiterate the enormously growing importance of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in our need to transition to a net-zero carbon scenario for the country.

Is India emulating west, 'using' anti-terror plank to justify state-supported violence?

Fahad Ahmad, Baljit Nagra*  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused India of being involved in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh leader, on Canadian soil. Narendra Modi’s right-wing Hindu nationalist Indian government is defiant and denies involvement. Indian officials have instead admonished Canada for being a “ safe haven ” for Sikh “terrorism,” a pejorative for Sikh self-determination .