Hyderabad: On the third of a relay hunger strike by the students of English and Foreign Languages University (Eflu), the varsity administration removed the proctor from his position. He will, however, continue in his position as a professor.
Protesting students had demanded the removal of the proctor for allegedly using sexually explicit language with female students in the classroom.
Further, he had also filed a police complaint against 11 students on charges of detention and threat of assault, which students vehemently denied and opposed.
While the removal of the proctor was greeted with cheers by students, they said that their protests would continue to seek fulfilment of all their demands.
In a statement following the developments, the students stated: “Though only a partial fulfilment of one of our demands, we see this as a result of our continuing struggle to ensure a safe campus space. We stand united for our cause and continue with the indefinite hunger strike until all the demands — justice for the survivor, resignation of the Vice Chancellor, as well as the remaining members of the Proctorial Board, reconstitution of the ICC with elected student representatives, withdrawal of false FIRs and show cause notices and immediate conduct of student union elections — are met.”
The issue dates back to initial protests by students for the constitution of a SPARSH (Sensitisation, Prevention and Redressal of Sexual Harassment) committee, following which one of the protesters was sexually assaulted on the campus on October 18.
The incident, coupled with clashes with the administration over its denial to allow a discussion on Palestinian literature, led to heated confrontations and snowballed into a controversy. While the protests were called off in October end, they resumed on Monday.
