Protests at NIT Srinagar: Outstation students meet Dy CM, rue lack of ‘liberal space’

The NIT authorities on Thursday allowed the students to skip the minor examinations scheduled to start from April 11 saying they would be given an opportunity to write these exams later.

Srinagar: Police and CRPF deployed at National Institute of Technology (NIT) following tension between local and non-local students in Srinagar on Friday. PTI Photo by S Irfan(PTI4_8_2016_000234A)

Police and CRPF deployed at National Institute of Technology (NIT) following tension between local and non-local students in Srinagar on Friday. (Source: PTI)

Secretly taken out of campus on Friday afternoon, 11 students representing those from outside Jammu and Kashmir enrolled at NIT-Srinagar met Deputy CM Nirmal Singh and Education Minister Nayeem Akhtar to arrive at a solution over the ongoing stand off at the institute.

Sources said the students told Singh that there was pent-up anger among them over an alleged lack of “liberal space” — strict hostel timings for women, men being discouraged from speaking to women students and “shabby condition” of hostel rooms, among other issues. All this, they apparently said, was exacerbated by alleged celebrations following India’s defeat on March 31, leading to a clash between locals and non-locals.

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During the six-hour-long meeting, the students were told that the institute would consider bringing in some faculty members from outside the state to make the outstation students, who have also complained against some NIT teachers, feel more at ease, according to sources.

Calling it “positive”, a source privy to the developments said another round of talks is likely to be held Saturday. NIT director Prof Rajat Gupta and members of the HRD ministry team that is in Srinagar are learnt to have joined the meeting later.

According to information, the representatives, including a woman student, were taken in two police vehicles to the Deputy CM Singh’s official residence.

The NIT administration had Thursday asked outstation students who wanted to return home to give details so that the college can “facilitate” their transit, but no one is learnt to have listed for it so far.

Bashaarat Masood

Bashaarat Masood is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express. He has been covering Jammu and Kashmir, especially the conflict-ridden Kashmir valley, for two decades. Bashaarat joined The Indian Express after completing his Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University in Kashmir. He has been writing on politics, conflict and development. Bashaarat was awarded with the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2012 for his stories on the Pathribal fake encounter. ... Read More

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