AUD students' council demands to revoke suspensions of 5 students

NEW DELHI: The Ambedkar University Delhi Students’ Council on Tuesday voiced sharp concerns over varsity adminstration and demanded the immediate revocation of suspensions imposed on five students who were protesting an earlier disciplinary action related to a ragging complaint.

Tensions escalated in the university following the April 12 suspension of five students -- including elected union members -- for allegedly attempting to meet Vice Chancellor Anu Singh Lather. However, the administration accused them of obstructing official duties and attempting assault, allegations that have been firmly denied by the students as well as the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) , which has extended support to the protest.

The suspended students were part of a demonstration against the administration’s handling of a ragging case in the Karampura campus. Videos and photos circulating online reportedly show the students being beaten with sticks and physically assaulted by police and private security personnel.

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Over the last 11 days, the student movement has seen a surge in participation and activity and April 15, more than 200 students participated in a “March for Justice” on the Karampura campus , an official statement of AUDSC said.

Between April 16 and 20, General Body Meetings were held across undergraduate and postgraduate programs, all of which condemned the suspensions and called for the restoration of normalcy. Research scholars from other AUD campuses have passed solidarity resolutions backing the demands of the Karampura students.

AUD class boycott

A campus-wide class boycott was held on April 21, which the students’ council claimed was successful in 20 out of 27 programs — amounting to roughly 75 per cent of lectures being boycotted. The council said this was not the first time students had resorted to such measures, recalling earlier boycotts in solidarity with the victims of the 2020 Delhi riots and to demand digital infrastructure during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Students have also launched a hunger strike, which has now entered into its second week, with many reportedly falling ill due to heat and starvation. The students claim they have made repeated efforts to meet the university administration, but no meeting has materialised despite verbal assurances.

“This raises serious questions over whether AUD’s management is wishing to fight a war of attrition against its main stakeholders — the students,” the council said in its statement.

Their demands include the immediate revocation of suspensions, reopening of the main gate and removal of barricades inside the campus, withdrawal of a notice banning protests in administrative areas, cancellation of a show-cause notice issued to faculty member Dr Kaustav Banerjee for expressing solidarity with students, and restoration of the university’s common mailing list, which has been disabled since March 6.