The administration of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata has said it will address concerns raised by students’ parents as an indefinite protest over campus violence and security continues.
Registrar Deepak Kumar said the institute had received an email from parents and would respond to their concerns. “The concerns raised therein will be addressed appropriately in due course,” he told.
The response came after 30 parents wrote to Vice-Chancellor Santosh Ajmera, questioning the institute’s decision to rusticate six students, suspend academic activities and direct students to vacate their hostels within 24 hours. The parents also sought clarity on the deployment of police inside the campus.
Students have been staging an indefinite sit-in outside the vice-chancellor’s office since October 12. They began boycotting classes on September 28, following a confrontation between students and members of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat on September 27. They are demanding accountability for the incident, stronger security arrangements and action against those responsible.
Why are SRFTI students protesting?
The dispute centres on two incidents involving students and groups from outside the institute.
On September 27, students and members of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, an organisation affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), were involved in a clash during a programme on campus. Students stopped attending lectures, workshops and film shoots the following day, demanding an inquiry and better security.
Tensions escalated again on October 4, when members of the Bangiya Hindu Jagaran Manch gathered near the institute’s main gate. Reports said stones, bricks and water bottles were allegedly thrown during the confrontation. The institute condemned the incident and said it had filed a formal complaint with the authorities.
Students have accused the administration of failing to protect them and establish accountability for the two incidents. They have also alleged that disciplinary measures and restrictions on campus facilities were used to pressure them to end the protest.
The institute has disputed the protesters’ account of events. Vice-Chancellor Ajmera has accused a section of students of disrupting academic activities and politicising the agitation. The administration has also alleged misconduct by protesters, including intimidation and vandalism. These allegations remain contested.
The West Bengal government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the campus violence. The institute has separately set up a fact-finding committee.
Why have parents intervened?
In a letter to the vice-chancellor, the parents objected to the action taken against students following the two incidents. They said the students had asked for security and an inquiry, but the administration had issued show-cause notices to eight students, rusticated six and ordered students to leave the hostels.
They also questioned why police personnel were deployed inside the campus after a student torch rally on October 27. The parents said they had not been told why the police were present, who had authorised the deployment or when they would leave.
The hostel order has become a particular point of concern because many students come from outside West Bengal and have no alternative accommodation in Kolkata. The parents described the directive to vacate the hostels within 24 hours as an attempt to disperse the protesting students.
The administration, meanwhile, has said police were deployed to maintain safety on campus. It has also alleged that some protesters were disrupting classes and preventing other students from attending academic activities.
Academic activities remain disrupted
SRFTI suspended regular academic activities in its film, electronic and digital media departments until November 13. The administration also asked students who remained on campus to return home while classes were suspended.
Students have continued their agitation, saying the suspension of classes and the action against protesters do not address their main demands. They have also alleged restrictions on access to facilities, including the gymnasium, music room and film-viewing areas. The administration has not accepted all these allegations.
The disruption has affected lectures, workshops and film shoots, which form a central part of training at the institute. Faculty members have also raised concerns about the situation. More than 30 faculty members reportedly appealed to the registrar to withdraw police personnel and resolve the dispute through dialogue. Faculty representatives also proposed deferring the institute’s participation in external film events until the situation improves.
The registrar’s assurance that parents’ concerns will be addressed is the latest response from the administration. However, no specific timeline has been announced for resolving the dispute, and the students’ sit-in continues.
The immediate questions are whether the administration will review the disciplinary action, clarify the purpose of the police deployment and address the students’ demands for accountability over the September and October incidents. Until then, the standoff continues to affect academic life at SRFTI.
