Sad how Hyderabad University has turned into a police adda
There are serious charges levelled against Hyderabad Central University (HCU) vice-chancellor Appa Rao Podile, including under the SC/ST Atrocities Act. But despite it all, the V-C decided to return to the university. On March 22, he had invited a few faculty members and non-teaching staff to his camp office where his residence is also located.
We hear some students were almost forcefully taken there. And that they were incited to break the windows of the building. Many students who went to protest there heard slogans against them and broke open the lock of the gate and after further provocation, more damage was apparently done.
When I had reached there, it was 1.30 in the afternoon. Students by then had peacefully gathered and were continuing to protest, but in a calm way. We were constantly urging the students to remain calm. Around 5pm, the police started to chase the students, after which they were beaten, dragged and manhandled aggressively. I was witness to some really inhumane behaviour.
The vandalism at the V-C's camp office happened in the morning and we had no idea how they decided to pick up the students and on what basis. Everyone around seemed to be a target of the police. Several faculty members were present too, out of which, KY Ratnam from the political science department, who is a representative of the Dalit faculty members' group and Tathagata Sengupta of the mathematics department were roughed up like petty criminals before they were pushed into the police van.
None of the female faculty members or students were beaten. But I did see male police personnel manhandling female students too. I saw hair being pulled, clothes being pulled at and the girls being dragged on the ground. It was disturbing to see all this. Four or five policemen dragging one student; someone grabbing an arm, someone else holding the legs and another cop hitting the student on the head.
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| Hyderabad University Appa Rao Podile who has been under a lot of fire. |
I saw no reason, first of all, for the police to act the way they did since the students had calmed down and were protesting peacefully. In the last three months, we have seen no violence on campus, but on March 22, I think students were extremely agitated that there was no redressal of their grievances and the V-C returned to office despite his name not being cleared.
On Saturday (March 26), I visited the jail to meet the students and faculty members who were arrested. They told me that throughout the journey from the campus to the Miyapur jail, they were thrashed up in the van. People who asked the police not to beat up the students were mercilessly slapped too.
To see it all, it was disappointing, to say the least. It is utter dismay that many of us feel. The university has turned into some sort of a police adda. I've been associated with the University of Hyderabad for more than 15 years, first as a student and then as a faculty member, and it is rather scary to see this democratic and academic space turn into a police stronghold. For the last few days, we've only seen police and more police in riot gear. It is a deeply disheartening and disturbing sight.
Even today the media is not allowed inside the campus. If the administration is on the right side, why has it not been allowing the media in since March 23? What is the administration scared of? No lawyers are being allowed too. Only the police seem to have access inside the campus. We love our university, we work hard towards nurturing it into a space of learning and free thought, but this is something that has totally shocked us beyond belief.
Honestly, we are scared of seeing police on the campus, and so much aggression and violence. We are too scared about our careers being jeopardised to get involved in any of this. But how can you not speak up either on this kind of inhumane behaviour?
(As told to Mona Ramavat.)