As the students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore sit for a dialogue at Shastri Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday, both the sides will strive to reach a common ground that can pave the way for ending the students’ strike, on for five months. While the government is wary of the FTII stand-off turning into an embarrassment for the country and the ministry during the upcoming International Film Festival of India (IFFI), to be held at Goa next month, students too are tired of the strike and its impact on academics, especially for those enrolled in short-duration courses. It has been learnt that if the government dismisses the “core demands” of the FTII Students’ Association, which includes reconstitution of the current FTII society and making the appointment procedure transparent, the students may reject other offers such as making FTII an Institute of National Importance and implementing the Central Universities Act, 2009, with a threat to take the agitation to Goa next month. [related-post] “We are approaching the talks with positivity and hope the MoS does the same. It's not about us and them, it’s about saving a historic institute and by extension our higher education system. We can't compromise on our core demands, because they are genuine and right,” said a member of the students’ delegation. Since June 12, when the strike began, the I&B Ministry representatives and students have held seven meetings. This includes a series of unofficial meetings with MoS Rathore and I&B Minister Arun Jaitley. After these talks failed, the ministry appointed a three-member committee to assess the ground situation, which visited the institute and submitted its report. After 18 days of relay hunger strike by students, the ministry opened another channel of talks with senior I&B officials holding talks with student representatives in Mumbai. Although there were four such meetings, they failed to resolve the deadlock, after which the ministry fixed a “final meeting” with MoS Rathore for October 20.
