Police Beat Up the Students in Presidency as State Violence Enters the Campus Again in Bengal

Presidency University witnessed state violence inside the campus as students protesting against the Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee's visit were beaten up by the police.

The protesting students waved black flags and shouted slogans as Mamata Banerjee walked into the campus. The reportage so far has said that students were protesting against the government inaction after the ransacking of the campus which occured two years ago, causing, amongst other things, significant damage of the Baker Laboratory. However, as the general mood across the campus shows, the protests were more a result of the events that occured in the campus following the incident on 10th April, 2013. Over the last few months since the VC Aruradha Lohia's appointment, several members of the faculty have resigned from their posts, including the former Dean of Students' Deboshruti Roy Chowdhury, Somak Raychaudhury of the Department of Physics , and Shukla Sanyal – the then Head of the Department of History. All of them cited differences with the university administration in one way or another. Subhrojyoti Mukherjee, a third year student of the English Department, cited the reason for the protests as a “breach of trust”. My conversation with him late in the afternoon came to an abrupt end as he informed me that the state Education Minister, Partha Chatterjee, has entered the campus and a loud round of slogans followed, drowning his voice. The Governer of Bengal, K. N. Tripathi, entered the campus in the same car with Chatterjee, for the convocation scheduled later in the evening.

Unlike the VC, Anuradha Lohia's claim that only a minority of students were protesting against her, and that the police action was a result of a scuffle with the police who were only trying to protect the Chief Minister, at least three students were admitted at the Calcutta Medical College Hospital yesterday - Madhuparna Ghosh (UG II), Nilotopal Sarkar (UG II), and Mrinmoy (UG II, History), and five more suffered serious injuries.

The events were followed by a night long gherao in front of the VC's office with the students demanding her resignmation. Today, in the afternoon, the students allowed for her to attend the convocation. The scuffle with the security guards when the VC was on her way to the convocation led to at least two more students, Sreemoyee Saha (UG II, Sociology) and Arkapal (UG III, Bengali) being taken to the Calcutta Medical College Hospital for a check up. Only a minority of the students attended the convocation. Lohia called for medical facilities citing her failing health but soon she reversed her decision. Students say this reversal coincided with members of the Trinamool Congress surrounding the college. In a scene reminiscent of 10th April, the college gates were locked with a large section of supporters waving TMC flags, crowding at the gate outside the college.

Trinamool Congress members in front of the Presidency Gate on 19th April, 2013

Image Courtesy: 24 Ghanta

Trinamool Congress members in front of the Presidency Gate on 21st August, 2015

Image Courtesy: Shreya Sen

View outside the gate on 21st August, 2015

Image Courtesy: Sohini Haldar

Mamata Banerjee, in her speech yesterday, announced a number of funds for the library, beautificaton of the campus, as well as two new campuses in Kurseong and Rajarhat. Sumon Sen, a student from the English Department said, “The allotment of funds by the state for a state university is necessary, but this must happen beind close doors, as it does for all public universities in India. There is an attempt by the uiversity administration and the state government to make a spectacle out of it and cover up all other problems that has been plaguing the university.”

Sources inside the university have also claimed that there has been a case of favouritism towards certain students who have spoken in favour of the VC, in certain sections of the faculty, particularly in the Department of Sociology. They have also claimed that some sections of the students were selectively not allowed to enter the Derozio Hall yesterday when students outside of the university were allowed entry.

In a report published today in the Times of India, Bivas Chaudhuri , the Secretary of the Presidency Alumni Association was quoted saying, "We strongly condemn the unruly behavior of one small section of students, maligning the culture of Presidency. This is not acceptable to us and we apologize to the chief minister and education minister." Brinda Bose, a Life Member of the Presidency College Alumni Association and currently an Associate Professor at the Centre for English Studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University, said that she had received no intimation regarding this : “I, of course, don't subscribe to this view and there has been no motion passed by the Association on this matter.”

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