The student had organised a single-man protest against a programme inside the campus which had raised religious slogans.
A student of a Central university in Kerala was suspended for a year for protesting against a religious event held on campus hailing Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya.
On 31 January, the National Institute of Technology Calicut (NIT-C) in Kozhikode suspended Vyshak Premkumar for a year for breaching “multiple crucial clauses of the institute’s student code of conduct” by protesting against an event organised inside the campus which had religious chants.
The order issued by the dean of the institute said the actions of Vyshak had resulted in “unrest inside the campus”.
“In light of these aforementioned facts, Vysakh Premkumar has been suspended from the institute for a duration of one year, effective immediately and extending until 30 January, 2025, due to the violation of multiple provisions of the student code of conduct,” said the student welfare dean of NIT-C.
Sources close to the student told South First that he had organised a single-man protest against a programme inside the campus which raised religious slogans a day before the Ram Temple consecration in Ayodhya on 22 January.
“He was peacefully protesting in front of the main building on the campus with a placard that had ‘India is not RamRajya’ written on it,” the source added.
Following his protest, he was allegedly assaulted by the members of the Science and Spirituality Club, which organised the event, for objecting to the celebration of the religious event which had painted a map of India in saffron. It also comprised a bow and arrow, often attributed to Lord Ram.
“His placard was destroyed multiple times by the members of the Science and Spirituality Club who objected to his protest,” said the source.
Detailing the event of 21 January, the Students Affairs Council (SAC) of the institute said in a statement that the club members disrespected the map of India by drawing the image of a bow and arrow on a saffron background.
“This was followed by the club members raising the slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and even posting this on the official Instagram handle of the science and spirituality club,” said the SAC.
“The very next day, Vysakh, a BTech student from the Electronics and Communication Department, protested peacefully in front of the Main Block. Agitated by this, a group of students assaulted him and tore up his placard while shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’,” the statement of SAC said.
The source said that placards made by Vyshak were destroyed three times, and when he made it the fourth time he was assaulted.
“He did not file a complaint against the attackers since the assault occurred in an isolated place. He did not have proof against them. He was verbally and racially abused by the members of the Science and Spirituality Club,” the source told South First.
It also said that the speaker of the council, Kailas, who brought up the incident in the SAC WhatsApp group, was assaulted as well.
“Speaker Kailas brought up this incident in the SAC WhatsApp group. After nearly an hour, Kailas was beaten up for asking questions about the aforementioned event by the Science and Spirituality Club,” the SAC said.
The source said that Kailas filed a police complaint over the assault and also reported it to the NIT-C management.
“We had a meeting with the students’ welfare dean. He did not accept our demand to revoke the suspension of Vyshakh. He asked for a signed document from the SAC after a meeting with the student body,” another source told South First, requesting anonymity fearing repercussions from the management.
“The dean also said that he didn’t have the authority to revoke the suspension and that power lay with the director of the institute,” the source added.
The source also quoted the director as saying he wanted to expel Vyshakh, but some of the faculty members were against it.
Another student told South First that the person who assaulted Vyshak and Kailas had been subjected to disciplinary actions in the past.
“Shiv Pandey, who orchestrated the assaults, was subjected to several disciplinary actions in the past, for actions like creating a group in the institution named Bajrang Dal and also for assaulting senior students. Even after all these, no action was taken against him for the recent assaults,” the student added.
The students also quoted the dean as saying that no action was taken against Pandey since there was no complaint against him.
#Kerala: Students and students' organisations staged protests at NIT Calicut over the suspension of a student.
On 31 January, a student named Vyshakh was suspended for a year by the National Institute of Technology Calicut. The administration said that the one-man protest by the… pic.twitter.com/z31JfG68df
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) February 1, 2024
The council also expressed its dissatisfaction over the suspension of Vyshakh citing the lack of representation of SAC members during the meeting that took the decision.
“The lack of representation from SAC members during the meeting, where even the nominees of the committee members were denied entry, raises concerns about the impartiality and fairness of the inquiry. In this regard, we ardently request the DSW office to revoke the suspension order and conduct a fair investigation consisting of SAC EC members and student representatives,” said the statement.
Meanwhile, several students of NIT-C pointed out, on condition of anonymity, that no action was taken against the members of the Science and Spirituality Club who assaulted both Vyshakh and Kailas.
South First contacted the management of the institute regarding the incident. The student welfare dean of NIT-C refused to comment on the developments.
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