New Delhi: An evening scuffle between students of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) and members of RSS linked outfits has emerged as the latest flashpoint in BJP ruled West Bengal.
The students of the Kolkata based film institute did not want a “Hindutva event” on their “non-political” campus. The Right-affiliated group Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP), however, told ThePrint that it was their annual event. The group, which is not a student body, said it has been organising “women empowerment and consumer empowerment” programmes every year, and that the event at SRFTI was also part of its awareness programme.
‘No space for Hindutva’
On Sunday evening, the clash broke out after members of the student union reached the main theatre, where ABGP was holding their programme after lunch.
Sarang Surendran, a third year student of Cinematography, and member of the student union was among the students who were a part of what they call a “peaceful protest”.
“We went there in the afternoon, placed our posters on their banners”, said Surendran. Members of the student union were chased and beaten up.
Surendran was also injured in the clash, and more students started to assemble. Few of the students also claimed that they were intimidated with a knife.
“The group initiated violence. There should be no activity organised which is political and religious,” claimed Surendran.
The scuffle prompted more students in the campus to gather. Husnaa Lakadwala, a senior student, who was inside the campus told ThePrint that the students locked the main gate of the campus.
“They called us Pakistani, Bangladeshi and anti-national. We did not want the group to leave the campus”, she said.
Videos circulating on WhatsApp showed many people gathered outside the SRFTI gate, waving flags, shouting and hurling abuses at the other sides across the gate and screaming.
Speaking to the media last night, Vice Chancellor Santosh Ajmera said, “I believe such incidents should never happen in any educational institution. SRFTI is one of the premier institutions in the country. Students from all walks of life are not here for violence; they conveyed to me that they did not start any violence. We are taking all measures along with the faculty and student members, the police and concerned authorities to ensure safety and peace remain the prime concern. Even our chairman is in constant touch and ensuring all possible support.”
Students’ Association extend solidarity
The Students’ Association of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) issued a statement expressing solidarity with SRFTI students. It alleged that members of the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP) assaulted students who were protesting against the event, using bricks, knives, lathis and blunt objects.
The association also alleged that a staff member was beaten and that students were chased inside the campus. It criticised the SRFTI administration for allowing an event by an outside group without informing the student body, saying public institutions should not be used to promote partisan views.
The FTII students’ body also linked the incident to a January 2024 clash at its own campus involving RSS-affiliated members.
The SRFTI, just like the FTII at Pune, is a hub of Left-liberal cabal. For decades, the Left has held sway in these campuses – just like it did in other reputed institutions like TISS, JNU and others. Anyone who tried to challenge was intimidated into silence and acquiescence.
Thankfully, the NSD in Delhi was able to move out of the stranglehold of this ideology. TISS and JNU have seen substantial improvements too.
With the BJP in power in West Bengal, one hopes other eminent institutions like Jadavpur University, Presidency College and SRFTI too are liberated from the suffocating clutches of this devilish ideology.