Lack of consensus to loss of hope: Why FTII students called off their 139-day strike

Has the government finally succeeded in breaking the four-month long students’ strike at the FTII? ‘Yes’, if the government officials are to be believed and ‘no’, if you listen to the students of the institute. “Our series of discussions with the students has helped in breaking the logjam and they have finally called-off their strike. The Minister of State (MoS) also had a detailed meeting with the students’ body on how to improve FTII. We’re looking into the issue,” an official in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) told Firstpost on condition of anonymity. “No, we’re not calling off our agitation. We’ve only called-off the strike and joined our academics. It has become clear that the government has no intent to resolve this issue. None of our demands has been met,” FTII Final Year student and spokesperson of the students’ association, Ranjit Nair told Firstpost. [caption id=“attachment_2476338” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] After 139 days of marathon strike, the students of the premier film and television institute abruptly called it off on 29 October, but with a rider that their battle against the government’s decision of appointing Gajendra Chauhan and five other members on FTII board would continue. Then, what made the FTII students call off their strike? 1. Five meetings with the I&B Ministry, including MoS Rajyavardhan Rathore, ended the hunger strike and gave a feeling amongst the students that problem would be sorted out. 2. The students were compelled to end the strike and join classes, as they have already lost 139 days. 3. Students have started lagging behind in respective courses. 4. Majority of the students belong to the middle-class and they see filmmaking as their ultimate career. Prolonging of the strike is having a cascading effect on the finances of the students’ parents and guardians. 5. The students’ association has accepted the fact that the government won’t pay any heed to their demands, especially replacing the current chairperson Gajendra Chauhan and five other members. 6. The aggressive students’ protest has gradually turned into a cold war between the I&B Ministry and the students. 7. The students of every stream at FTII will have to spend additional months at the campus, as they are way behind the schedule. 8. All attempts by the students and reactions thereafter – from peaceful demonstration to hunger strike, and the midnight police crackdown to a series of meetings with government officials, have hit a blind wall. It’s a status quo situation. “The entire academic structure will face a backlog of more than four months. The most unfortunate part is that the batches expected to graduate in 2015, will get prolonged and it’ll be like the stigmatized 2008 batch. The entire blame will be put on the students for this delay, as happened with the 2008 batch of students,” said Devas Dixit, a final year student of the film direction course. According to the FTII Students’ Association, the meetings with the MoS and I&B officials made it clear that the government was not interested in listening to the students. “The meetings were just a formality. The MoS clearly told us that the decision to appoint the chairperson and the board members was a political one and he had no mandate to take any decision of his own. If this is the situation with the minister himself, then who has the mandate to take decisions? How will he run the government? Instead of focusing on the core issue, the government discussed the peripheral issues. It shows the government has no intent to resolve the deadlock,” alleged Nair, who has been a part of the seven-member students’ committee engaged in dialogue with the government. “We think the government won’t accept our demands because it would hurt its ego. We can’t sacrifice our academics any further,” he added. During a press conference in Delhi in August, the parents of the FTII students had expressed their concern over the strike and the apathy displayed by the government in addressing the issues of the students. BP Biswas, a worried father of the 2008 batch student Raju Biswas, who was arrested by the police in the midnight crackdown at FTII campus, had then told Firstpost, “It’s a matter of great concern. The parents send their children with a lot of hope and aspiration. Many bear financial hardship. If the deadlock continues, it would jeopardize the career prospects of the students. The government needs to understand this.” Meanwhile, 12 filmmakers including Dibakar Banerjee and Anand Patwardhan have returned their national awards on 28 October. Dixit added, “Besides protesting at various platforms including at the prestigious International Film Festival in Goa, we’ve passed on the baton to the film fraternity. Twelve filmmakers have already expressed their protest by returning the national awards they had won. The government needs to understand the severity of the situation. If Gajendra Chauhan and the five members try to enter our campus, we’ll stop them.” The students’ body has escalated their protest on social media, including Facebook and Twitter.