With the indefinite strike launched by students at the KR Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts at Thekkumthala, Kottayam, Kerala continuing for more than a month, it is learned that CPM (Communist Marxist Party) has taken a political decision to settle the issues and end the strike. According to sources, CPM district leadership has conveyed a recommendation to the party-state leadership to favourably address the issues raised by the students. "A message has been passed to the state committee. A final decision will be taken by the Chief Minister soon," sources said, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
It was on December 5 that students launched an indefinite strike demanding the ouster of institute's Director Shankar Mohan. Students have raised a slew of allegations against Mohan that include caste discrimination and undermining reservation norms for students' admissions.
Following protests, the District Collector ordered to shut the institute till January 8, which has been extended further to January 15. Following this, students started a new way of protesting by launching the 'art of protest', in which, students resumed academic activities on their own through online and offline classes while continuing their strike. They got tremendous support from the film industry with many film personalities offering the students all the assistance to continue their academic activities. While directors Rajeev Ravi and Sanju Surendran arrived at the institute for an interactive session, other senior film personalities including Ashiq Abu, Krishnendu Kalesh, Jeo Baby, Kamal KM and Salu K Thomas visited the protesting students on Tuesday, January 10. More personalities are slated to visit the campus in the coming days and back the students online, as reported by The New Indian Express.
What does CPM say?
Taking into account the overwhelming support from the film industry for students, CPM has decided to intervene in the issue. It is learnt that CPM recommended the removal of Mohan from the post. Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister R Bindu told reporters on Tuesday that a two-member commission appointed by the government to look into the issues at the institute will submit its report on January 13. "Gov't will take a decision, including the possibility of removing the director only after receiving this report," she said, The New Indian Express stated.
The students at the same time will continue their protests. "We can't sacrifice our academics when the institute authorities turned a blind eye towards our demands. We have sought the help of various film personalities and several persons, including B Unnikrishnan, Gurvinder Singh, Arun Sukumar, Rajiv Ravi, Sanjay Surendran and B Ajith Kumar, have offered all the support," said Sreedev Suprakash, students' council chairman at the institute.
