FTII stir: Over 100 detained at students'' protest in Delhi

New Delhi, July 3

More than 100 students protesting the appointment of actor and BJP member Gajendra Chauhan as chairman of governing council of Pune’s Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) were detained on Friday.

Scenes of bedlam met the eye at the site of protest outside the Ministry of Information and Broadcast, under which the institute falls, when students Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University and Delhi Technological University also joined in the protest. Police said the detained were taken to the Parliament Street police station.

"This is to ensure that the protest does not get out of hand," an official said.

Protesters accused police and CRPF of “violently” disrupting what was until then a peaceful protest.

"Today's peaceful protest in solidarity with striking students of FTII outside Shastri Bhavan in New Delhi was violently disrupted by police and CRPF," a statement issued by a spokesman of FTII Students Association (FSA) said.

Chauhan’s appointment to the post last month has met opposition and vehement protests: protests claimed that Chauhan’s appointment was biased and accuse the central government of attempting to infringe upon the institute’s autonomy. They claim Chauhan, known primarily for his role as Yudhishtir in BR Chopra’s mega television series Mahabharat in the 80s, lacked the credentials required to head an known institute of film education. Protests have refused to accept anything short of his resignation.

"FTII is being saffronised and people close to the BJP are being appointed as heads of cultural and art institutions," Kisley, a protesting FTII student, said.

The students also demanded that the FTII governing council should be reconstituted.

Oscar-winning sound designer, editor and mixer  Resul Pookutty and filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli were part of the 10-member delegation that met a group of senior ministry officials led by the joint secretary (films), K Sanjay Murti.

Sources said that ministry officials met students at 3 pm to hold a detailed discussion with them.

The I&B ministry, which has invited the students' body to discuss the deadlock in a bid to restore “normality” on campus, has, however, claimed it was government's "right to make appointments". IANS/ PTI