The Hindu : New Delhi News : Unrest on campus, students lock up teachers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 02, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Unrest on campus, students lock up teachers

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, FEB . 1. It was a day of student-teacher conflict on the campus as two Delhi University colleges -- Shivaji and Shyam Lal -- witnessed high tension and unrest after students locked up the staff members at both places. Upset over the Principal's "inaction", the teachers of Shivaji College later announced an indefinite strike from Wednesday.

While Shyam Lal College saw a student being suspended for his allegedly inappropriate behaviour with a teacher, the mood in Shivaji College was tense with students coming out in strength to oppose the demand against second year B.Sc. general student, Pawan Raghav, who has been accused of manhandling P.R. Chadha, a reader in the Department of Commerce. Protesting against the teachers' demands for expulsion, the students felt that since Raghav had already faced a suspension period there was no need to expel him.

The incident in question had occurred last Friday when the student was apparently making copies at the college Xerox machine. The teacher apparently wanted to use the machine and asked him to copy his material after him. "We want to know why the student should be suspended? Yes he had asked the teacher if he was in too much of hurry and addressed him as uncle as he did not know that he was a teacher. But the teacher in question got angry and started hurling abuses at him, before dragging him to the principal's room and slapping him on the way. Although the boy apologised, he is being punished, but the teacher is being let off," said the Joint Secretary of Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU), Gaurav Khari.

While the college seemed to be divided on the issue, the students union sprung into action today by demonstrating and locking the teachers inside the college. Accusing the teacher of making false charges against the student, Gaurav said the teaching lobby was trying to use the controversy to settle personal scores with the principal and students.

The day saw much action here as the students staged a demonstration and locked the staff till 7 p.m., before agreeing to go with the principal to the dean of colleges to sort out the matter. Although the College Principal, Rama Patnaik, managed to put her case before the Dean, the students after being made to wait turned violent, damaging the Vice- Chancellor's office in the process.

Adding to the drama was the teachers claim that the principal had deliberately supported the students to keep the teachers divided and deliberately postponed a decision on the issue by involving the students union in the matter.

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