The students at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune continued their protests for a third consecutive day on Saturday. The protest came after the death of a third-year BS-MS female student on August 16.
The students have submitted five demands– mental-health infrastructure reform, rollback of gendered mobility restrictions in hostels, provision of functional “third spaces” for students, protection of the right to peaceful demonstration from misconduct or disciplinary action and immediate revocation of the suspension of student council general secretary Raj Bagwe.
According to students, Bagwe had raised concerns with the institute over an alleged sexual incident on campus through an email, following which disciplinary action was initiated against him. He was subsequently suspended from the institute and removed from his position as general secretary.
They are seeking an open meeting with institute director Sunil S Bhagwat, with the proceedings recorded, to present and discuss their demands.
According to the students, they were approached by the dean (student and campus activities) through email at around 6.17 pm on Thursday seeking their demands. However, they sought an assurance that students participating in the demonstration would not face disciplinary action before submitting their demands. The students said this assurance was not provided, following which they declined to submit the demand letter to the dean and sought an interaction with the competent authority.
The institute has now clarified that director Bhagwat has invited three to five representatives of the protesting students for talks, although the students have not agreed to the meeting yet. It also said the students have not officially submitted their list of demands to the administration. Responding to concerns over the condition that the protest must be free of “unlawful acts”, the institute clarified that violations of institutional rules or Indian laws would be considered unlawful, while participation in the peaceful sit-in itself would not be treated as a violation.
{{/usCountry}}The institute has now clarified that director Bhagwat has invited three to five representatives of the protesting students for talks, although the students have not agreed to the meeting yet. It also said the students have not officially submitted their list of demands to the administration. Responding to concerns over the condition that the protest must be free of “unlawful acts”, the institute clarified that violations of institutional rules or Indian laws would be considered unlawful, while participation in the peaceful sit-in itself would not be treated as a violation.
{{/usCountry}}The institute also said its disciplinary communication includes a condition that protest-related communication must not violate applicable laws or institute IT policies. On mental-health support, IISER said a psychiatrist is already connected with the institute on an as-and-when-needed basis. It further said the hostel complex has seven dedicated apartments for married students, with no pending requests for such accommodation.