PROTESTING POLICE ACTION AGAINST STRIKING FTII STUDENTS
August 23, 2015
We, the undersigned teachers, scholars and researchers, signatories to different statements issued in Solidarity with the Students of the Film &Television Institute of India (FTII), while reiterating our firm support to this historic strike by students, stand with the FTII Teachers’ Association, in unequivocally protesting ‘the manner in which students were picked up by the police in the dead of night (August 18/19) in the absence of senior members of the administration’.
The spread of ‘misinformation in the public domain’ the orchestrated ‘false campaign to malign the image of the protesting students’ and intimidatory tactics—such as the recent police action and the employment of ‘bouncers’ on campus— aimed at breaking their will, need to be brought to an immediate halt.
Instead, the important issues being raised by them, with conviction and consistency over the past many weeks, need to be urgently resolved in keeping with the best intellectual, artistic and democratic traditions of the FTII.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the statement belong to that of the signatories. They do not represent the position of their institutions.
Signatories:
Mukul Mangalik, Dept. of History, Ramjas College, University of Delhi
Uma Chakravarti, Historian, Teacher, Feminist
Shohini Ghosh, Sajjad Zaheer Professor, AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia
Vidya Das Arora, Dept of English, Gargi College, Delhi University
Janaki Nair, Professor, CHS, Jawaharlal Nehru University
G. Arunima, Centre for Women’s Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Vinita Chandra, Ramjas College, Delhi University
Rina Ramdev, Venkateswara College, Delhi University
Kumkum Roy, Historian, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Pratiksha Baxi, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Suvritta Khatri, Deshbandhu College
Pulin Nayak
Nalini Nayak
Saumyajit Bhattacharya, Dept of Economics, Kirori Mal College
Ratna Raman, Venkateswara College, University of Delhi
Debjani Sengupta, Department of English, I.P. College
Mihir Pandey, Department of Economics, Ramjas College
Roopa Dhawan, Ramjas College
Rashmi Pant, Department of History, IP College, Univesrity of Delhi
Nandini Dutta, Miranda House, University of Delhi
Sanam Khanna, Kamla Nehru College, Univesrity of Delhi
Shahana Bhattacharya, Kirori Mal College, Delhi University
Pankaj Jha, LSR College
Nivedita Sen, Hansraj College, University of Delhi
Mohinder Singh, SIS, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Chitra Joshi, Indraprastha College, Delhi University
Giti Chandra, St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi
Meenakshi Malhotra, Hansraj College, University
Deepika Tandon, Miranda House, University of Delhi
Sharmila Purkayastha, Miranda House, University of Delhi
Debaditya Bhattacharya, University of Calcutta
Naveen Gaur, Dyal Singh College, Delhi University
Rudrashish Chakraborty, Dept of English, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi
Biswajit Mohanty, Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi
Amrapali Basumatary, Kirori Mal College, Delhi University
Banajit Hussain, New Socialist Initiative