Tumultuous times at the Visva-Bharati University seem to be simmering at the cusp of a major blowout after a mass boycott of the ongoing semester-end exams by the students and resignations en-masse by members of the varsity's Executive Council.
On March 16, the Registrar of the university, Ashish Agrawal, the Public Relations Officer, Atig Ghosh, and two members of the Executive Council tendered their resignations. "We have resigned as we cannot solve the students' issues," they said. The Vice-Chancellor, Dr Bidyut Chakrabarty had asked the Proctor to take action against protesting students who were boycotting the examinations. When the Proctor allegedly refused to comply with the order, he was suspended by the VC. On March 17, another member of the Executive Council resigned. "All members of the Executive Council will resign and the varsity will become dysfunctional if our demands are not met," said a senior professor at the university. He also added that the Heads of Departments and Principals were also willing to tender their resignations.
The protesting teachers and students have three major demands. They want the Vice-Chancellor to adhere to the order of the Calcutta High Court and reopen the hostels immediately. The Calcutta High Court had, earlier this month, taken note of the students' agitations and directed the varsity to reopen the hostels as soon as possible for the students who have examinations right around the corner. However, while the exams began on March 11, the hostel accommodation process is still in the works even until yesterday, the varsity was collecting application forms from students who require accommodation. "This is a small town and rented accommodation can become a huge challenge for 80-90 per cent of the students who are outsiders. It is the statutory duty of the university to provide hostels to the students," a member of the VBU Faculty Association.
