Afghan students in Pondicherry varsity feel discriminated

Puducherry: An Afghanistan student has filed a complaint about ‘unfair’ treatment of Afghan students in Centre for South Asian studies at Pondicherry central university and false branding as ‘terrorist’ by the head of the department (HOD).

The complaint letter addressed to the vice chancellor and the registrar of the university by a second year post-graduate student  of the department, says that Afghan students studying in the Unesco Madanjeet Singh Institute for South Asia Regional Cooperation, (Umisarc) - Centre for South Asian studies, are being branded as ‘terrorist’ by the head of the department.

“This is a complete humiliation of dignity for me and my nation. I am socially alienated by systematic propaganda by HoD of Umisarc”  the complaint letter says. The student describes the mental pressure he is going through because of the allegations. “The students from neighbouring countries come to India dreaming of high-quality education, Not even in our dream, we could imagine of being branded,” the letter said.

In another letter addressed to the coordinator of South Asian Federation(SAF) and Umisarc, the student says that some students in the department are campaigning against him based on the nationality.

“They are trying to create a bad image of me and my nationality and pursuing people to isolate me,” the student alleged in the letter.

“I am in this university through SAF, from Afghanistan that is not to be considered any less country as any other Saarc countries. My government, based on the mutual trust and respect, sent me to study this course, that I am willing to do”, the letter said.

The students complain that the A Subrahmanyam Raju, the HoD is showing partiality in distributing internal marks and deliberately failing some students.

“The marking and grading system is coloured with highlighting those who are the favourites ‘silent supporters’ and those who are disturbers, who express opinions, ask questions, who want to know more than one perspective of something, is being taught a fitting lesson.” said a student from Afghanistan on strict conditions of anonymity.

“We are even denied the scholarship based on some personal agenda of the HoD,” he added.  “We are less in number and we do not have any political support, so the foreign students are afraid to make any complaint. Though the complaint is made, the university is not taking any action. We have already contacted the Afghan representative of SAF who is promised to meet university authorities,” the students told Deccan Chronicle.

The teaching and research in South Asian Studies at Pondicherry University received a major fillip with the signing of an MoU between the Pondicherry University and the SAF on June 20, 2009, for the establishment of the Madanjeet Singh Institute of South Asia Regional Cooperation (Misarc).

In the year 2010, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) agreed to associate with all the institutions of excellence established by SAF including Misarc of Pondicherry University. Hence, it has been now renamed as Umisarc (U stands for Unesco). All Sarc countries except, Pakistan, send their scholars, chosen based on merit, to master in south Asian studies in this department.

The students say that the funds being received by the university from SAF should be diverted to some other Indian universities where students would feel safety. Admitting that the university authority has received complaints from Afghan students, registrar in-charge M. Ramachandran said that the faculty has denied the allegations raised by the students against him.