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NSUI protests ‘inactive’ study centres at Pune university

The study centres to honour social reformers Annabhau Sathe and Mahatma Jyotirao Phule at Savitribai Phule Pune University have been closed for two months, the NSUI said.

Savitribai Phule Pune University (File photo)

The National Students Union of India (NSUI) held a protest on Monday against two allegedly ‘inactive’ study centres at the Savitribai Phule Pune University, the Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe Chair and the Mahatma Phule Chair.

The study centres established in honour of Maharashtra social reformers Annabhau Sathe and Mahatma Jyotirao Phule have been closed for the past several months, the NSUI alleged, adding that the books and statues here are covered with dust. Rats and snakes had also been spotted at the centres, the NSUI further claimed.

“When spaces built to honour Bahujan thought are locked, it is not just doors that are shut—it is the future of resistance, memory, and justice that is being silenced,” Siddhant Jambhulkar, NSUI member, said.

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NSUI protesters threatened to break the locked doors of the study centres and clean them up if the university administration did not take appropriate action to restart the centres.

However, Dr Sunil Bhandage, head of the Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe Chair, refuted the allegation that the study centre was non-functional. “The study centre is functional and is conducting events as well…just that the office that it is currently located at is not functional and is disorderly. In the rain, snakes come there, like many places in the university. So we are operating out of the Marathi Department,” Bhandage said. “On July 18, a programme on Annabhau’s death anniversary is going to take place. On his Jayanti on August 1, there is a prize distribution ceremony. On March 20, an event on satyagraha was held. Events are held in the study centre every three to four months,” he added.

The SPPU website does not mention a head professor for the Mahatma Phule Chair.

Soham Shah

Soham is a Correspondent with the Indian Express in Pune. A journalism graduate, he was a fact-checker before joining the Express. Soham currently covers education and is also interested in civic issues, health, human rights, and politics. ... Read More

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