It is Day 10 of the protests at Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University (PJTSAU) in Hyderabad. "If GO 55 is not revoked, we will stage a state-wide protest and gherao the Chief Minister's Office, Praja Bhavan and Raj Bhavan," said Satyamurthy Nayak, President of the PhD Scholars Association of the university.
The protest started on January 11 against the Telangana Government’s allocation of the university land to construct the new Telangana High Court premises. Under this order to the Ministry of Law, as mentioned in Government Order 55 (GO 55), about 50 acres of land from PJTSAU has been allotted for constructing the new court. Protesting against this, the PhD scholars and postgraduate students have resorted to spearheading the protests on campus in Rajendranagar.
With no response from the government and support from the university, the students have written letters to the Governor of Telangana Tamilisai Soundararajan and the High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe, seeking their appointment to discuss the concern.
Speaking to EdexLive, a second-year PhD scholar from the Agronomy Department Bonthala Madhukar, said, "As it has been 10 days since the protests have started and no resolution has been arrived at yet, we are meeting Registrar Dr M Venkata Ramana to submit a representation about the strike."
The High Court Parirakshana Samiti has also extended its support to the cause, informed Nayak, adding that the HC advocates and lawyers are against the government's call for a new high court. "They (advocates and lawyers) stated that the existing HC is in good condition and there is no requirement for a new high court," Nayak said.
Hugs, rakhis, vows
As the American Essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience" — the students are patiently aiming for a resolution. In the meantime, they hugged certain trees on the campus, offered prayers, performed rituals and vowed never to let anyone cut them down on January 12. The reason is that a tree protects those who protect it, they say, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
Giving more details, the president of the PhD Scholars Association Nayak said, "We have tied Rakhis to the trees and performed Kumkum Archana (worshipping by applying red turmeric powder to the trees)."
Fighting for a cause
Further, Nayak admits that the protest is not for their individual needs but for the benefit of the future generations who wish to study at the university. "This biodiversity park is home to many plant and animal species which contribute to research and many studies," he adds.
In the words of the PhD students, the university or the biodiversity park called Lungs of Hyderabad is home to a butterfly farm, and many species like the red-necked falcon, the Indian black turtle, the oriental darter, and the painted stork. It is also a host to the research centres for Drone Technology, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Biodiversity, and Agroforestry of the university.
