The students’ union of the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute demanded the resignation of vice-chancellor Santosh Ajmera in a statement on Tuesday, accusing him of failing in his “basic duty” to “protect students” and “engage with them in good faith”, as their indefinite sit-in entered its second day.
The union said the institute needed a head “who appreciates freedom of expression and dissent” and promotes dialogue between the administration and students. “Art cannot be made in an atmosphere of fear, threat and coercion,” the statement said.
The students have been boycotting theoretical classes since September 28, a day after they were allegedly assaulted by supporters of the RSS-linked Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP), which was holding a programme at the institute’s main auditorium.
On October 4, supporters of the Hindu Jagran Manch allegedly tried to storm the campus gate, hurled bottles and stones, accusing SRFTI students of disrespecting images of Swami Vivekananda and Bharat Mata while disrupting the ABGP event.
The students have since been demanding action over the attacks and assurances of their safety. They have set up a makeshift dais in an open space in front of the administration building to press for Ajmera’s resignation. He took charge as vice-chancellor on September 27.
The union said students had received disciplinary notices asking them to show cause for protesting inside the vice-chancellor’s chamber and writing graffiti to protest against the attacks.
Demanding the appointment of a new vice-chancellor, the students said the incumbent must be willing to meet them and give due weight to their safety, particularly in the aftermath of the incidents on September 27 and October 4.
Blossom Hazarika, president of the SRFTI students’ union, said: “Since the back-to-back attacks by RSS-linked organisations, we sought a meeting with the vice-chancellor regarding our safety and security concerns on October 7. The meeting did not take place and we were told it would be held the next day. But he did not meet us.”
“Instead of hearing us out, the SRFTI administration is serving students with disciplinary notices one after the other to coerce us into joining classes. We don’t want a vice-chancellor who believes in oppression,” she said.
Ajmera had accused the students of failing to come forward with a proposal for dialogue.
Metro reported on October 10 that several students had been served show-cause notices and asked to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against them for allegedly assaulting a security officer who had asked them to vacate the vice-chancellor’s office.
A section of students had occupied the office the previous week, with many sitting on the floor to protest the alleged attacks. On Monday, some students were served disciplinary notices for allegedly obstructing the vice-chancellor’s access to his office and occupying his chair during the protest.
Sudip Chakraborty, an SRFTI student, accused Ajmera of focusing on disciplinary action rather than addressing the students’ grievances.
“He is interested in teaching aggrieved students lessons for daring to protest. He does not want to answer why he failed to prevent an attack on students by supporters of the Hindu Jagran Manch, despite being alerted by students on October 3. The vice-chancellor has failed us,” he said.
The students’ union also alleged that, at the October 7 meeting, two faculty members had told its representatives that Ajmera repeatedly cited cases from FTII Pune, where students faced FIRs and lasting damage to their careers.
FTII students had staged protests in 2015 against the appointment of BJP member Gajendra Chauhan as the institute’s president.
The SRFTI union said in its statement: “This was conveyed as a warning to SRFTI students... Taken together, the above conduct shows that the vice-chancellor has failed in the basic duty as the head of the institution — to protect its students and engage with them in good faith.”
Ajmera told Metro on Tuesday: “The disciplinary action notices are for particular violations. Notices were sent to three students who actively defaced the property. The second thing is that they are using instigating slogans, which disturbed the peace on campus. The second disciplinary notice was sent to three students who were found sitting on the VC’s chair, assuming charge as VC without any authority. They hijacked the VC’s office for two days.”
Responding to the allegation that he had refused to meet students, Ajmera said his office had not received any formal request for a meeting. “Let them send me an official request. I will be very happy to meet. Regarding FTII, I do not know who is spreading what,” he said.
He added: “My appeal to everybody is to help us restore calm. Students should get back to their classes. I also appeal to stakeholders not to believe these rumours. We have received a request from the police department not to deface the walls outside or put up any content that could incite violence. Safety and security of students have been addressed.”