Port Blair, Oct. 2: On the issues concerning DBRAIT a joint memorandum by political parties has been submitted to the Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah for his personal intervention and immediate solution of the issues.
The memorandum mentioned that the students of Dr BR Ambedkar Institute of Technology, Port Blair are on agitation path for the last few months, demanding settlement of their issues but no concrete and sincere action has yet been taken either by the Govt. of India or the A&N Administration.
These Islands are very famously known as “Mini India” and also a calm and peace loving part of India with minimal crime rate. Whatever issues arisen from time to time are being settled by peaceful means and deliberations by affected parties and authorities concerned.
However, in the recent times, it has been observed that the government authorities in A&N Administration have become indifferent and insensitive towards the genuine problems faced by different sections of people. The incident of police atrocities on the peacefully agitating students of DBRAIT on 28th September 2022 had even the media attention of national coverage, which shows police using water cannons, teargas shells, and forcefully dispersing the students. The Administration, rather than going into the root cause of the issue for its amicable settlement, has used police force to curb the genuine demands of the students.
The genesis of the issue can be traced to the fact that the Pondicherry University to which the DBRAIT is affiliated, had pointed out 17 shortcomings and requested for rectification of it so that the affiliation can be continued. Pending this, the University had accorded conditional provisional affiliation for the B.Tech courses.
The Administration, rather than taking action to comply with the directions of the Pondicherry University, approached the Hon’ble High Court at Calcutta by filing a Writ Petition against the University, which is still pending in the court on appeal.
The students of DBRAIT of 2020-21 and 2021-22 batches were not allowed to appear at the Semester examinations by the University pending compliance of its directions by the A&N Administration. The conditional permission to appear at the examinations, on the basis of an order of the Hon’ble High Court has been resisted by the students who continue to agitate fearing that such conditional permission to appear at the examination will go against them once the Pondicherry University wins the case. The students have, therefore, gone on peaceful agitation by means of mass dharna in front of the DBRAIT and Secretariat.
Consequent upon this, the A & N Administration and Vice Chancellor of Pondicherry University had, at last, held meeting with the agitating students on 15th Sept 2022 and had given them certain verbal assurances as if their demands have been settled. On the contrary, the action taken subsequently by the University and the Administration was quite opposite to what was assured to the students, which ultimately pushed the students in a tight corner, leaving no alternative rather than resume their agitation. As a result of which, the students have resumed mass dharna on 26th September, 2022 in front of DBRAIT and on 28th September, 2022, the students moved towards the Secretariat but were prevented from going ahead, forcing the students to sit on dharna on the road mid-way. Subsequently, to the dismay of all, the police authorities swung into action of atrocities in which some students have sustained serious injuries and had to be hospitalized.
Political parties in the Islands have condemned such unprovoked action on the part of the police and Administration and demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter.
Sighting the above, the political parties suggested the Home Minister that the best possible way of settling the issues permanently is to comply with the 17 number directions of the Pondicherry University. However, in the meantime, an interim solution may be arrived at, so that the studies of the already enrolled students are not hampered and they can appear at the pending examinations without any pre-conditions.