Vande Mataram seminar: CUK students launch night protest after proctor suspends five protesters

Kasaragod: Students of the Central University of Kerala have launched a night protest at the administrative block on Thursday after the proctor suspended five students for disrupting his presentation during the two-day national seminar on Vande Mataram.

The students are demanding the immediate withdrawal of the suspension orders, saying they were only exercising their right to question a programme being conducted on their campus. "Taking disciplinary action against students for raising their voices sets a disturbing precedent for democratic student participation in the university," said SFI CUK secretary Syed Ali S, one of the five students suspended.

The other suspended students are MSF activist Shabeer; NSUI unit president Mohammed Yasin, an English student; MSF leader Taqiyuddin, a Computer Science student; and SFI activist Aved V B, a student of the Department of International Relations and Politics.

The suspension orders were issued by chief proctor Prof Sreekumar P, the university's disciplinary authority, against whom the students protested on Wednesday.

The suspension order said the students' alleged act defamed the university in the presence of "invited guests, dignitaries, media personnel and staff" during the seminar organised by the Sahitya Akademi.

"The conduct of the students is highly inappropriate in an academic forum and is inconsistent with the standards of discipline, decorum and conduct expected of students participating in a university programme, and resulted in the disruption of the proceedings of the session," the order said.

The students have been suspended for two weeks, during which they are prohibited from entering the university campus and hostel. University students' council chairperson Vivek said he was trying to meet Vice-Chancellor Prof Siddu P Algur to discuss the suspension of the students and the case registered against 25 unnamed students at Bekal police station.
Students alleged a conflict of interest, saying the suspension orders were issued by the same Proctor against whom they had protested.

The students had raised slogans and protested against the presence of RSS leaders on the first day of the seminar on October 6. On the second day, Governor Rajendra Arlekar, speaking at the seminar's valedictory function, dubbed the protests as against Vande Mataram, and called for action against those behind the protest.

After the valedictory function, when Sreekumar's session started, the students disrupted his presentation with slogans of 'RSS go back' and boots in hand.
The police intervened, but Sreekumar, a professor of the Department of Linguistics, was not able to complete his presentation.

SFI unit president Niyaththara A L said students will continue their democratic protest and boycott classes until the suspensions are revoked. "We call upon the university administration to resolve the matter immediately and ensure that students are not penalised for exercising their democratic rights," she said.