A new circular issued by the Central University of Gujarat's administration that lays down new guidelines for organising events on the campus has created a hue and cry among the student community. Issued on August 19, it says that there was a blanket ban on conducting events of a political nature and that prior permission from the administration must be obtained to organise any programme. Students have submitted a memorandum to the administration protesting the move and have announced that there will be a protest on Thursday against the move.
The circular says that the university bans the conduct of any programme organised by political parties. "Political programmes organised by political parties or in their support are not permitted," reads the circular. It also says that the students must get prior permission to conduct events where outside speakers are invited. "Permission for academic or any other programme (non-political) where outside speakers are invited are to be submitted to the DSW office through the Student Council, any centre or faculty member. However, permission for such programmes will be given by the competent authority," it reads.
The students have strongly raised their voice against the circular. "This is undemocratic and unconstitutional," says Piyaram Meena, a PhD scholar in the university. "All student political organisations are holding their meetings now to decide the ways to protest this move," he says. Mayukh Biswas, National General Secretary, SFI, also had a similar view to share. "Since the time it came to power, the BJP government has been trying to curb voices that spoke against it. The attempt for the same will be stronger after they implement the new National Education Policy. Eventually, our universities' students' unions will only have members nominated by the Sanghi government," he says.
We have written to the administration to understand the rationale behind such a move. The copy will be updated when we hear from them.
