The Department of Electronics and Communication at the National Institute of Technology-Calicut (NIT-C) has suspended a Dalit student who had recently reportedly taken part in a protest on the day of the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Uttar Pradesh. Vysakh Premkumar, a fourth-year student BTech at the institute’s Department of Electronics and Communication, had reportedly been a part of the protests that had hit the campus last week and had been holding a placard which said ‘India is not Ram Rajya’ on January 22. The protests had been disrupted by a group of people who came shouting Jai Sri Ram and engaged in minor clashes with the other students.
According to Manorama News, the notice issued by the Dean of Students’ Welfare, the notice has declared that Vysakh has been held “exclusively responsible for instigating unrest” and for “diminishing the prestige of the institute, both within its confines and in the public eye.” In addition to this, Vysakh is now barred from accessing the campus, including hostel premises without prior permission. The order further asserts that Vysakh has a history of transgressions, having received verbal warnings in the past for involvement in ‘undesirable activities conflicting with the student code of conduct’. The report by Manorama reveals that Vysakh was assaulted by a group that known as the Science and Spirituality Club. The incident of assault reportedly took place when Vysakh objected to the group’s depiction of a saffron map of India, featuring a bow and arrow, commonly associated with Lord Ram.
The NewsMinute spoke to the suspended student who refuted the administration saying that he had never faced disciplinary action prior to this incident and the administration could be saying so because he was part of a hunger strike last year protesting against an event attended by RSS leaders.
Student groups have condemned the incident, Maktoob Media reported that Fraternity Movement decried the incident and has stated that the institute is “not an RSS Shakha.”
Unrest and protest disruptions continue in the country. Last week, students in Pune’s prestigious Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) were attacked by a mob of outsiders who came and beat the student union members and vandalised property on the campus, including setting fire to objects, after students tried peaceful film screening of Anand Patwardhan acclaimed documentary on the Babri Masjid demolition called ‘Raam ke Naam’.
This story was originally published in sabrangindia.in. Read the full story here .