Students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) have now threatened to go on an indefinite fast if the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) doesn't take any steps in a few days to address the issues raised by them. The students, however, have not specified any date for the hunger strike to begin. Meanwhile, the indefinite fast of FTII faculty member Abhijit Das entered fourth day on Tuesday. Students said that although his blood pressure had shot up a bit, other parameters such as sugar level and heart beats were normal. Students said they were disheartened by the way the Ministry had kept the S M Khan committee report under wraps. “We now feel the committee was used as a tactic to deviate us and keep us silent for a few weeks. Its outcome is still a mystery. Moreover, although they video-recorded the meeting and also took minutes, they are yet to provide us the recording or minutes despite several requests on our part,” said Vikas Urs, a student. [related-post] Students said that despite their three-month long protest, the government had not addressed their basic issues. They said this had led them to think of a drastic step. “Students of the FTII, if their concerns are not addressed, will now begin an indefinite hunger strike. There is no timeline that has been fixed for the same as of now. The fact that students of the premier film school in the nation now feel that a hunger strike is necessary to get their government to resolve the crisis at hand signifies a complete loss of faith. It also as well as highlights the trauma and urgency we have to get a resolution. This is clearly the most ominous direction that this strike has now taken,” Harishankar Nachimuthu, president of FTII Students' Body said. Meanwhile, FTII director Prashant Pathrabe met Das and urged him to end his fast. Pathrabe reportedly told Das that “he had made the point he wanted to make”. Das, however, has decided to continue the fast. Students said they were monitoring his health closely and would move him to a hospital if such a need arose. “The doctor has conducted urine tests and his blood sample has also been taken for other tests. A medical officer attached to the institute is conducting the check-ups twice a day, apart from a private doctors who are doing the same on our behalf. State's medical department had also sent an ambulance, which collected a few samples and then returned. He had a bath in the morning and did meditation for some time. Overall, we don't see any reason to worry at the moment,” said Shini J K, an editing (TV) student.
