More than 100 students at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) refused to vacate their hostels on Saturday after the institute ordered them to leave the residential campus within 24 hours, intensifying a standoff over alleged attacks, security concerns and disciplinary action.
The institute issued the order on Friday evening after suspending academic activities until November 13. Students said the short notice was unreasonable and that leaving the campus would not address the safety concerns that had led to their ongoing agitation and class boycott.
“Why should we leave the campus? Restoring normalcy by addressing our safety and security concerns following the attacks on us by RSS-linked organisations is the administration’s responsibility,” Blossom Hazarika, a student from Assam, said, according to the report. She said students could not comply with the order, describing it as unacceptable and a violation of human rights.
Many of the students living on the residential campus are from states including Kerala, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Their refusal to leave followed weeks of tension at the institute, including an alleged attack on students on September 27 by members of the RSS-linked Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP). Students began boycotting classes the following day, demanding accountability for the alleged security lapses and action against those responsible.
On October 4, supporters of the Hindu Jagran Manch allegedly attempted to enter the campus, accusing students of disrespecting images of Swami Vivekananda and Bharat Mata. The administration subsequently asked students to resume classes from October 7, stating that security had been strengthened and police deployed at the main entrance. Students continued the boycott.
The dispute also led to disciplinary action. On October 15, SRFTI rusticated six students for allegedly manhandling, heckling, gheraoing and verbally abusing vice-chancellor Santosh Ajmera. The administration’s subsequent order to suspend classes and vacate hostels followed that action.
Ajmera said students who defied the order would receive disciplinary notices that “may impact them unnecessarily”. He said most students had already planned vacations during the Durga Puja holidays and characterised the continuing campus presence as an attempt by a few students to violate official orders. He also said rusticated students would have to leave the hostel because they were residing there illegally and that the institute’s facilities had already been suspended.
The vice-chancellor said students had been given sufficient time to comply. The students, however, have linked their refusal to leave to the administration’s handling of the alleged attacks and their demand for accountability. Filmmakers, including Anurag Kashyap, have expressed solidarity with the students through a campaign initiated by Kerala filmmaker Aashiq Abu. The campaign called for an investigation into the attacks, a review of the rustication orders, accountability for those responsible for violence and protection of democratic rights on campus.
The immediate dispute now centres on whether the institute will enforce the hostel order and initiate further disciplinary action while academic activities remain suspended until November 13.
