Students protest intensifies at Jadavpur University; Vice-Chancellor ready for talks

Jadavpur University has once again become the center of student protests. The indefinite sit-in, which began on Tuesday night, continued until Wednesday morning. Students, led by left-wing student organizations including DSF, have been demanding that Vice-Chancellor Bhaskar Gupta meet them and hold discussions by 4 PM on Wednesday. They have warned that if the Vice-Chancellor does not come to the campus within the stipulated time for talks, they will escalate their agitation.

In response to the students' ultimatum, Vice-Chancellor Bhaskar Gupta stated that, as of Tuesday night, he had not received any formal request for dialogue from any student. He mentioned that he had only received an email on Monday, the language of which he did not consider “student-like.” The Vice-Chancellor said, "I am always ready to talk to the students, but respectful behavior is essential. When I visited the hospital to meet the injured students, no one mentioned the way I was treated there. It is the students who must create a conducive environment for dialogue."

Reacting to this, SFI leader Shubhadeep Bandyopadhyay retorted, "If our behavior is not considered student-like, then the Vice-Chancellor’s attitude is also not fitting for a Vice-Chancellor. If he behaves appropriately, we will do the same." The students claim they tried multiple times to contact the Vice-Chancellor through emails and phone calls, but he did not respond. After holding general body meetings on Monday and Tuesday, they have placed several demands before him. These include:

• The university should bear the full medical expenses of the injured students.
• The cases filed against students with the police should be withdrawn by coordinating with the government.
• A case of attempted murder should be filed against State Education Minister Bratya Basu for his role in the incident.

The students have stated that if the Vice-Chancellor does not come to the campus within 24 hours, they will announce a larger movement. Students from all three faculties have already formulated their strategy for this. Additionally, they are preparing to organize a public convention soon to prevent such incidents in the future. The tension at Jadavpur University has persisted since last Saturday, following a protest against Education Minister Bratya Basu that turned violent.

Allegedly, during the demonstration, the minister was injured, and two students were seriously wounded—one of whom was reportedly run over by a vehicle in the minister’s convoy, while the other had a vehicle’s wheel roll over his foot. In the wake of this incident, Vice-Chancellor Bhaskar Gupta visited the hospital on Saturday night to meet the injured students, but students protested against him there as well. Allegedly, his kurta was torn in the commotion. Since then, his health has deteriorated, and he is currently resting at home.