On Monday, a group of students of the Visva-Bharati University held a noisy demonstration demanding the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty, while a general body meeting of the teachers’ union condemned the “high-handed” behaviour of the authorities.
The countdown to the centenary of the university, founded by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921, is likely to be marked with what’s turning out to be a long-drawn confrontation between the authorities and Left-wing student leaders who appear to have the sympathy of a section of teachers.
‘Heavy security’
“We wanted to take out a big procession to the central office but found the place under heavy security. They have declared it a no-disturbance zone. So we held a demonstration at the Upasana Griha and shouted slogans,” said Falguni Pan, one of the student leaders.
These students accuse the Vice-Chancellor of turning Visva-Bharati into a Right-wing institution and also for inciting the violence that broke out in the campus on January 15, when some students belonging to Left-wing organisations were injured in an attack by a rival group. The university has rejected both allegations.
The violence followed anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests on the campus and a lecture on the CAA delivered by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ideologue Swapan Dasgupta, who was locked up in the hall for several hours by protesting students.
“We will continue our agitation because we are concerned about the future of the students at Visva-Bharati. We will resist all attempts to saffronise the university,” said Mr. Pan.
‘Made scapegoat’
Meanwhile, the teacher’s union, the Visva-Bharati University Faculty Association (VBUFA), which has over 300 members, said that it was being made a scapegoat for the ongoing trouble on the campus, even though it has not openly or actively supported the agitating students.
“On January 15, our office was locked up. This, in spite of a notification issued in November last year, recognising us as a voluntary organisation. The Vice-Chancellor has clearly made us a scapegoat for his mismanagement,” VBUFA president Sudipta Bhattacharyya said.
“The general body meeting condemned the closure of our office. It also condemned the high-handed manner in which the Vice-Chancellor is functioning,” Mr. Bhattacharyya alleged.
Where the agitations are going to lead remains to be seen, but Santiniketan appears to be fast turning into a fertile ground for a confrontation between Left and Right wing groups, and a place whose name is synonymous with peace looks set to witness more noisy demonstrations.
