After IIT-M ban, JNU, IIT-Bombay express solidarity by forming Ambedkar Periyar study circles

Even as IIT-Madras on Tuesday called an emergency meeting of its Board of Students to discuss the de-recognition of student group Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSC), student bodies all across India were protesting against the move. Also, in a show of solidarity for the rights of IIT-M students, IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi, Kolkata’s Jadavpur University and Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University have now formed similar groups. [caption id=“attachment_2275696” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. PTI[/caption] According to The Economic Times, “The IIT Bombay students have floated a group in the name of Ambedkar-Periyar-Phule Circle (APPC) and IIT Delhi has retained the original name of APCS. Kolkata’s Jadavpur University and New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University have, too, floated APSC in their campuses.” IIT-M has been in the eye of a political storm over the derecognition of APSC for allegedly criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Union HRD Minster Smriti Irani has also come under fire from political parties like Congress as well as students’ bodies for the action against the student body. Scroll.in reports, “On the forefront of the solidarity campaign on the social media for APSC was IIT Bombay’s Progressive and Democratic Students Collective which condemned the ban as soon as it happened. The next step was formulating a model group on similar lines and garnering support on the campus to talk about the issues related to caste and social hierarchies in an open forum that’s not just restricted to students.” And as the protests continue, in the meeting held with IIT-M authorities, members of the student group put forth a five-point charter of demands including its re-recognition and “unconditional apology from the Dean (Students) for misuse of official power.” The other demands included– overturning of “undemocratic” code of conduct which was against Article 19 (a) Freedom of Expression, officially recognising all independent student bodies and providing democratic spaces and equal privileges like hall, IITM official mail account to all of them, an official statement from IIT-M said. With PTI inputs