Now, Sambhaji Brigade lends support to FTII students

WATCH VIDEO: BJP Seeking A Face Saver In The FTII Row; Will Gajendra Chauhan Be Eased Out?

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On a day the students were breathing a sigh of relief after getting bail in the case of torture lodged against them by the FTII director, the activists of the Sambhaji Brigade trooped in at approximately 2 pm on Thursday and handed over a letter of support to the students. The students then sought to know the reason for its support.

Sambhaji Brigade Pune working president Santosh Shinde and student leader Prashant Dhumal told the students that they were opposed to the RSS and any attempt to saffronise the FTII and other institutes in the country. Ameya Gore, one of the FTII students, however, clarified that they were not against the RSS and the strike was not related to “saffronisation” bid of the government. “Our strike is against imposition of the wrong candidates on FTII,” Ameya said.

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FTII students’ president Harishankar Nachimuthu later told The Indian Express that the students feared an attack on the autonomy of the institute and a censorship on films. “It is not possible to saffronise the film syllabus of FTII…it is tough. But it surely is an attempt to snatch the autonomy of FTII. We have fears that they are appointing their men to impose censorship on the kind of films we make,” he said.

Saying that they were not opposed to Chauhan as a person and were neither raking up his merit or qualification, Nachimuthu said, “Our main grouse is that Chauhan does not have an academic or administrative background. We have serious doubts about his academic contribution or administrative skills.” Nachimuthu also said that they were not concerned about Chauhan’s suitability to the post based on his acting in B-grade films. “B-grade or C-grade, we don’t know.. but we want to know his academic knowledge which he will employ to spur our creative field,” he said.

The students, before accepting Sambhaji Brigade’s support, also demanded to know about its recent agitation against historian Purandare and the ransacking of BORI in 2004. The Sambhaji Brigade justified the “violent means” saying that they showed their anger against the bid to defame Chhatrapati Shivaji who is worshipped as God by different sections of the society. The organisation said it did not cause physical harm to anybody, but only broke furniture to register its protest. “We welcome support from organisations who sympathise with our cause and cite just reasons for their actions,” the students said. The outfit claimed that all this while, it was busy with the agitation against the decision to award Purandare and hence, could not make an entry at FTII.

Two bouncers, roped in by the FTII administration, reportedly to deter any ruckus on the campus, Thursday kept moving around the institute premises, but did not specify their role. Some of the students termed the move unwarranted and a bid to create terror among the students. “We are not goondas…we are students. They have brought in bouncers to create fear among us, but it will not help. Our agitation seeking justice will continue,” said Ajayan Adat.