E-Paper
BHU students boycott classes
INFURIATED OVER the presentation of Reservation Bill in Parliament on Friday, providing 27 per cent reservation to backward class students in government funded premier academic institutes, the students of Institute of Technology (IT) in Banaras Hindu University boycotted their classes and took out a massive rally under the banner of ?Youth for Equality? to lodge their protest here today. A large number of students of IT-BHU started gathering near the Rajputana Hostel from 10 am.
INFURIATED OVER the presentation of Reservation Bill in Parliament on Friday, providing 27 per cent reservation to backward class students in government funded premier academic institutes, the students of Institute of Technology (IT) in Banaras Hindu University boycotted their classes and took out a massive rally under the banner of ‘Youth for Equality’ to lodge their protest here today.
A large number of students of IT-BHU started gathering near the Rajputana Hostel from 10 am. Meanwhile, BHU administration had closed the gate of Rajputana Hostel, which houses first year students, for a short-while but later the gate was opened.
Senior students alleged that the gate of hostel was closed so that the first year students could not join the agitation, but the BHU authorities said that the gate was closed to avoid ragging.
Later succumbing to the pressure of BHU administration not to stage any sort of protest on the campus, the students again gathered outside the Main Gate and shouted anti-Arjun Singh slogans. A heavy security force was deployed at Rajputana Hostel and BHU Main Gate to avoid any untoward incident.
More than 500 students staged the demonstration while carrying banners and placards conveying message such as ‘Reservation! Terrorism Against Education’, ‘Don’t Divide Us, Let Us Live in Harmony’, ‘Undivided We Stand, Reserved We Fall’, ‘Don’t Kill Merit, Stop Reservation’ and ‘Knock, Knock, Mr President Are You Sleeping’.
Even a drizzle did not deter the students and they continued with their agitation. Later, carrying the national flag, the agitated students took out a massive march from BHU Main Gate to Ravidas Gate, which returned and culminated at the BHU Main Gate.
The students were demanding an immediate reversal of Union Government’s move to implement 27 per cent reservation in premier academic institutes including, IIMs, IITs and AIIMS. The demonstrators said they would observe a complete boycott of academic activities in BHU and other educational institutions in Varanasi against quota policies of the Union Government on Saturday.
