TISS students call for hunger strike

HYDERABAD: Expressing anguish over the ‘inappropriate’ decisions taken by the administration of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad, the students’ action committee has called for an indefinite hunger strike from December 17.
Students, who have been protesting since December 10, said that even after five days (three days of boycotting classes) of agitation, the deputy director refused to address the general body.
“The student community has been protesting against the arbitrary decisions of TISS administration. The general body has not been addressed. However, a meeting was convened between the members of TISS, Hyderabad Internal Management Committee and the student representatives on December 13, after a round of negotiations. Throughout the meet, students were silenced, their legitimacy to raise issues questioned and collective demands of the student body were never addressed and dismissed,” members of Students’ Council stated through a release issued on Saturday.
The students said that they are enraged by this humiliation and demanded that the director, registrar, and deputy registrar address the student body immediately. They said that the public statement released by the management on December 14 is worded in a ‘threatening tone’.
“A public statement was released by Prof Siva Raju and the Internal Management Committee on Friday. Worded in a threatening tone it alleges a certain section of the students’ community of creating misinformation and pursuing undue propaganda. The student community is deeply infuriated by the insensitive attitude and deliberate move towards not letting open any avenue for questioning of the authority. There is very little accountability being taken by TISS administration towards the student body despite the ongoing agitation,” they said, adding that volunteers from student community have decided to go on an indefinite hunger strike starting 9 am on Monday. TISS students will hold a discussion on ‘The Role of Dissent in Democracy’ at Lamakaan on Sunday.