Hyderabad: Members of the SC/ST Faculty Forum of the University of Hyderabad and a few other teaching members of the university are unhappy with Prof. Appa Rao Podile resuming duties as vice-chancellor after nearly two months’ following Rohith Vemula's suicide.
A representation made by around 45-50 teaching members from the university stated: “We express our extreme displeasure at Prof. Appa Rao resuming office without information given even to the in-charge vice-chancellor. Prof. Appa Rao has returned to office when he has not yet been exonerated either by the court or by the judicial inquiry instituted by the MHRD based on the two-member committee report, which took into cognizance the very serious concerns raised by the students and the teaching fraternity.”
The teaching members said that they were shocked at the return of Prof. Rao as they did not think that he would resume work till his name was cleared in the issue as a SC/ST Atrocity case has been filed against him.
In their representation they said, “After Rohith Vemula’s death, the past two months have seen a very difficult and a carefully worked out process of healing on the campus is ongoing.
Prof. Appa Rao’s entry has completely set this back, hurting the ongoing institutional process of repair and derailed the academic activity on campus. The suspension of classes from 23-03-2016 and postponement of the Academic Council Meeting has severely harmed the smooth progress of academic schedule and the academic prospect of the final year students.”
The professors added that the damage done during the vandalism at the V-C’s lodge on Tuesday morning in the campus needed to be probed through an independent inquiry as only one section of students had been blamed for it.
The professors demanded safe return of the 27 arrested students and faculty members without delay and that no charges be brought against them and that the police should be immediately leave.
SHRC directs Vice-Chancellor to appear tomorrow
The State Human Rights Commission on Thursday directed UoH Vice-Chancellor Prof. Appa Rao Podile to appear before it on Saturday. The commission was hearing a petition filed by the Aam Admi Party on the shutdown of hostel messes in the university, disconnection of internet connection and for not allowing media in the campus.
In the petition, the AAP said the way police used brute force inside the university in the name of law enforcement at the behest of university’s vice-chancellor was deeply disturbing. Not allowing the media inside the campus to cover the incidents was a violation of right to information, the petition said.
It also complained of denying access to ATMs in campus apart from access to food by shutting down of hostel messes which the petition said is clear violation of human rights of the students.
University to evict outsiders
Following Tuesday’s violence at UoH, the varsity has decided to evict unauthorised residents from its hostels. If required, help will be taken from the police and university security or from the university's academic section for the evacuation. The evacuation was called as an “important aspect in resolving various issues on the campus” by the join action committee (JAC) of non-teaching employees.
UoH has decided on a timeframe of one week to evict the illegal boarders. A university official said, “It is not just the security aspect but also that the unauthorised hostel residents put extra burden on the university. Help of students and security officials will be taken in identifying the non-boarders.” While officials say that the number of illegal boarders would be 200, students say that the figure would be much higher.
