Endorsed.Ilina Sen, Feminist Scholar, formerly Professor at TISS, Mumbai.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone. -------- Original message --------From: Paromita Vohra <[email protected]> Date: 27/02/2018 10:45 (GMT+05:30) To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [humanrights-movement:8593] Re: Solidarity Statement for Endorsement in Support of Students' agitation on TISS campus Endoresed Paromita Vohra, filmmaker and writer On Tue, Feb 27, 2018 at 10:36 AM, 'sandhya gokhale' via humanrights movement <[email protected]> wrote: endorsedactivist, Forum Against Oppression of Women, Mumbai On Tuesday, 27 February, 2018, 9:32:13 AM IST, Teesta Setalvad <[email protected]> wrote: Endorsed Teesta SetavadJournalist-activist, EducationistMumbai On 27-Feb-2018 1:42 AM, "KP Sasi" <[email protected]> wrote: I endorse.K.P. SasiFilm Maker On Mon, Feb 26, 2018 at 4:39 PM, Goldy M George <[email protected]> wrote: IT SEEMS THE DOCUMENT DIDN'T GET ATTACHED LAST TIME. HERE IT IS SOLIDARITY STATEMENT We the undersigned alumni, activists, academicians, journalists, writers, teachers, artists, filmmakers, students, researchers, professionals and other concerned citizens stand in solidarity with the agitating students and scholars across the four campuses of Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Education is the medium to attain the highest order of human wisdom. All education, including streams of pure and social sciences should mandatorily be non-discriminatory and accessible for all citizens in all ways across the globe. As an institutional mechanism, education should directly or indirectly, serve the interest of furthering non-discriminatory practices, human rights, irrespective of class, caste, gender, race, ethnicity, religious or sexual orientation or physical or mental disability. Thus one could come to point that the purpose of all education is to sensitise, to humanise, to take humanity to higher levels of knowledge, awareness, freedom and social responsibility. However the story in hand has something different to tell. Students across the four campuses of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai, Tuljapur, Hyderabad and Gawhati had gone on strike since February 21, 2018. All classes remained empty since then. While the issues around student aid have been raised for more than a year now, the last few days have seen large-scale protests at all TISS campuses. In 2016, what initially began as the struggle of some students from Dalit-Adivasi sections in TISS has over time become a mass protest. The student union of TISS has called for a complete boycott of lectures, field work, assignment and even examination. This is the first time that students’ union has backed any dissent from the students belonging to the deprived category. This time the protest began simultaneously on February 21 at all four TISS campuses – Mumbai, Tuljapur, Hyderabad and Guwahati – against the institute’s decision to stop student aid to those belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) from 2016 onwards. The Story of Reservation Reservation is a fundamental right as per Indian Constitution, which has been time and again under severe threat under the pretext of merit and upper caste demand. Reservation in the educational institutions and the financial assistance in the form of scholarships and freeships constitute perhaps the most important factor in the development scheme for people from historically oppressed, marginalised and exploited background. For, it is primarily responsible to make the basic input of education available to them. Without education, all the constitutional safeguards including the reservation in services would be infructuous. The Reforms have already resulted in freezing the grants to many institutions and in stagnating, if not lowering, the expenditure on education. The free market ethos has entered the educational sphere in a big way. Commercialisation of education is no more a mere rhetoric; it is now an established fact. Commercial institutions offering specialised education signifying the essential input from utilitarian viewpoint have come up in a big way from cities to small towns. Their product-prices are not only based on the demand-supply consideration in their market segment but also are manipulated by their promotional strategies. In a true spirit of globalisation, many foreign universities have already invaded the educational spheres through hitherto unfamiliar strategic alliances with non-descript commercial agencies, of course at hefty dollar equivalent prices. The TISS Story TISS students had undergone a difficult phase for the past half a decade, more specifically in the last two years. This is in particular with the question of accessing the benefits under reservation. One after another social groups were targeted which has now reached a standstill state. Established by the Union government’s Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the post-matriculation scholarship scheme has long been the economic spine that has supported students from marginalised communities who venture into higher education. These funds helped the students from socially backward and economically weaker sections to overcome the hurdle of increasing tuition fees, hostel cost and dining hall charges at the institute, which would have otherwise made it difficult for them to continue their studies. This scheme is now in jeopardy. The apathy of the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government has been exacerbated by the present Bharatiya Janata Party regime. At the beginning of the 2017 academic year, the TISS administration suddenly announced that it would charge dining hall and hostel fees from everyone – including the Government of India-Post Matriculation Scholarship (GOI-PMS) students belonging to SC and ST categories. According to this circular, the students who were then in the second year of the two years masters programme also had to pay. Though this issue has been consistently in debate since 2010 onwards in some form or other, it came up in a big way during the present Modi regime, when it began to target the scholarship to student from specific social groups. In 2015, the institute withdrew financial aid to students belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) (non-creamy layer), and statistics shows that the representation of OBCs in the institute has taken a hit. About six months ago, a delegation of SC, ST and OBC students had met the minister of state for social justice and empowerment, Ramdas Athawale, and discussed their issues in detail. In this meeting, we were assured that our issues would be taken up on a priority basis and we would not be made to pay. While that conversation is still on, the institute went ahead with exerting pressure and demanding fees from the students. Most students will have to drop out if the administration does not relent. Playing the Foul Rhetoric of Reservation Over the years, the Union Finance Ministry has continuously rejected the financial demands placed by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment. This means that the department has a fraction of the amount it requires to disburse as post-matriculation scholarships across India. A deposition before the standing committee on social justice and empowerment by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment said that this has resulted in aggrandising the arrears. The report says, “Scheme of Post Matric Scholarships for SCs in which there are pending arrears to the tune of approximately Rs 8000 crores” for the 2017-18 financial year. The standing committee report, presented in Parliament last March, notes that “the Department submitted a requirement of Rs 10355.71 crores to the Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure. In response to this the department allocated only Rs 6,908.00 crores for the financial year 2017-18.” Targeting TISS TISS has been on target for a longer period. Apart from the withdrawal of scholarship for the OBC student – which the TISS administration accounted it to be the fault of the government – there are several other instances of targeting student from Adivasi sections. In 2015, the name of TISS was deleted from the online application procedure for students belonging to ST category doing their MPhil and PhD programmes. The fellowship original known as Rajeev Gandhi National Fellowship for ST students (RGNF) was renamed as National Fellowship for Higher Education of ST Students (NFST). In the online list, the name of TISS was missing from the list of eligible institutions. Priyanka Sandilya one of the Adivasi PhD scholars went on to write to the Jual Oram, the Minister of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and to the Chairperson of National Commission for Scheduled Tribe (NCST). She wrote, ‘all the four campuses of TISS (Mumbai, Tuljapur, Hyderabad and Gawhati) has been dropped from the national list, leaving them to loose their constitutional rights to avail scholarships.’ She refers to the pattern of prohibiting Adivasi scholars from some particular institutions like TISS to apply for legitimate scholarship. With the removal of TISS from the UGC’s list, many Adivasi Scholars enrolled for doctoral studies at TISS have been left staggering without any support. According to the letter, ‘we have been deprived of applying under the UGC scheme… In the online application form of NFST, the name of Tata Institute of Social Sciences did not appear in the list of eligible universities, due to which, many ST students could not apply and some have applied leaving the Institute name blank in the online application form. As Adivasi Students, we are eligible to apply under this scheme, but we are being deprived of being considered for the award of the Fellowship.’ It could be seen that this has been a trend in the neo-liberal phase of Indian economy where the most marginalised ones are the first victims of this development politics, particularly in the field of education. It is under these compulsions that the students’ current movement in TISS attains importance and relevance. The demands are genuine by all legal and logical measure upheld by the Constitution of India. Another trend has crept since 2014. The University Grand Commission (UGC) has sent circulars to many universities including TISS demanding the details of students from particular sections. This was done at the behest of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). These include Adivasis, Dalits, Muslim minorities and those who are part of communist or communist-like students’ organisations. This highly confidential circular to the Vice Chancellors demanded for their addresses, photographs, courses undertaken with the particular university, parental details, etc. The right wing government wants to completely wipe of any sort of dissent against it’s regime and has put in place all sorts of systems against those who resist the anti-people policies of the government. In a way it is to trap students into a cobweb and stamp them as terrorists, extremists and anti-nationals. Many students from these sections were under severe threat for being from these social groups. There are many circumstances where the students and scholars are no more the free-beings within university premises. Universities are the global spaces where free mind and free thinking are developed. It goes beyond the state’s notion of academics and also engages with the society in a critical manner. In this way the delimitation of spaces for the evolution and development of free minds and spaces put forth an array of critical questions on the very notion of scientific approach and free thinking of the university spaces. Third, one of the most critical schools/centres in all Indian university have been notified for a closure. The School/Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy (CSSEIP) in all the universities are supposed to close down including TISS. This has been one of the most critical schools/ centres with critical outlook on socio-economic, cultural and political systems, particularly the continuity of disparities based on caste, class, ethnicity, gender, racial, religious, regional and sexual orientation. The students, scholars and faculty members are already under the threat of loosing these space in terms of education as well as employment. TISS Students – Fighting Discrimination The students in TISS are creating a new history with such a long strike that has never happened in the past. Their fight is not just against the TISS administration, but at large against the system that deprives and discriminates student alongwith their family members from accessing the benefits of reservation. It is a fight against the systemic reinstatement of caste system under the aegis of Hindutva. It is to be kept in mind that for the past three years, all progressive, democratic and secular spaces are consistently under threat, more specifically within the educational and academic sector. Within the Indian campuses there has been a war-like situation among the students groups over the past few years, particularly with that of the right wing ideology. Excessive attempts have been made to completely saffronise the educational curriculum, syllabus and other aspects, which the students across the country have resisted strongly. Under these contexts the demands put forth by the students of TISS attains not just importance within the institute but also national and international relevance on how scientific thought processes are completely blocked. The Demand of Students The demands as raised by the students are as follows - 1. Withdrawal of Fees Hike. 2. Reinstatement of freeship/ scholarship for Dalit (SC), Adivasi (ST) and OBC (non-creamy layer) students under reservation policy. 3. Nationally bring an end to policies undermining Social Justice. 4. Stop privatisation of education and educational institutions across India. SC-ST Funds Diverted or Underutilisation While at one end there is a lack of allocation of funds from the Central Finance Ministry, on the other, the funds under SC sub-plan and ST sub-plan have been consistently diverted or underutilised in most of the states. Some media reports indicate that the funds allocated in the Adivasi dominant states, such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha, have not been able to spend their fund allocation beyond 11 percent. Few reports suggest that money for educational support under pre and post matric scholarship were diverted into the anti-insurgency operations in constructing roads, deployment of security forces and their subsidiary expenditures. The state governments have been playing a big foul play in this entire display. There are clear cases of fund underutilisation. For instance a student from Chhattisgarh studying in TISS would get only Rs. 7500/- as fees annually for doing a course in the institution, while the fees is almost a lakh rupees. The argument placed is pretty mindless, beyond any rational imagination. According to this argument, a student studying in TISS is eligible to avail only the amount, at par with another student from his or her home district, doing a similar course in a local government college. This means that if a student from Bastar studies in TISS, his course cost would be only the fees that another student from Bastar has to pay. The government authorities argue that this would prevent “discrimination’ in fund allocation for other students. There cannot be a special category of ‘premier’ and ‘non-premier’ institutions. All are being treated “equal” is the best argument. Perhaps if a student gets admission for MA in New York University, then he or she has to take Rs. 7500/- annually as the course fee. It has remained the same with most of the states, where the students from SC, ST and OBC category are treated as beggars on whom the government is doing some sort of a charity. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has come up with a clear verdict that the government should release the total amounts of fees to the students belonging to SC category including tuition fees, hostel fees, mess fees and any other eligible fees charged by the institution. It has also added that the students should be also assisted by a decent living cost. This means the ‘non-discriminatory’ argument of Chhattisgarh government does not have a locus standi. Such a situation of non-deliverance of substantial monetary assistance, despite being allocated from the centre, has already led institutions like TISS into a perennial debt trap. But TISS has never figured out the ways and means to come out of it. It would have been better had it supported the students cause by engaging in a negotiation with the government bodies and ministries. Instead of doing anything such the institution, in turn has put more pressure on the students to bring more money from their homes. These situations are really threatening for the sustenance of a healthy democratic nation, where students from particular sections are denied the right to study. Under these circumstances, we call upon the government of India, all the different state governments and the TISS administration to – 1. Take immediate action to reinstate the post-matric scholarship meant for students from different marginalised sections. 2. TISS administration should stop harassment of students by instant pressure tactics of fees hike. 3. Both the central and state governments should take adequate steps to immediately release the funds and backlogs to premier institutions like TISS. 4. The state governments should stop comparing TISS with colleges in the local area. 5. Stop spreading hatred in the campuses and politicising the students on caste, religious, ethnicity, gender, class and regional factors. 6. Release the backlog fund for the welfare of the students from weaker sections of Indian society across universities of India. 7. Uphold the space for scientific and rationale though development, freedom of individuals and in understanding the nuances of society in a critical manner. 8. Stop the attempts to saffronise educational institutions and campuses. 9. Reinstate the Schools and Centres on Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy. 10. Ensure the fulfilment of constitutional and democratic rights of students from SC, ST, OBC, Minority and other special categories. We remain in solidarity and support with the students’ in TISS campuses 1. Dr. Goldy M. George, Activist/ Writer/ Researcher, Chief Editor, Journal of People's Studies, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 2. Dr. Sujatha Surepally, Principal, University Arts College, Satavahana University, Karimnagar, Telengana, India 3. Cynthia Stephen, Co-Founder, Dalit Women’s Network for Solidarity, Bangalore, India 4. Dr. Madhumita Ray, Assistant Professor, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneshwar, India 5. Dr. B. Karthik Navayan, Human Rights Activist, Bangalore, India 6. Dr. K. Valentina, Assistant Professor, School of Business, Public Policy and Social Entrepreneurship, Ambedkar University, Delhi, India 7. Dr. Bela Nawaz, Assistant Professor, Sahid Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan 8. Dr. Salina V. Sreenivasan, Assistant Professor, SAEBTM Government College, Koyilandy, Kozhikode, Kerala, India 9. Laxmidhar Singh, General Secretary, All India Ho Language Action Committee, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, India 10. Dr. Sreedhar Ramamurthi, Executive Director, Environics Trust, New Delhi, India 11. Amit Sen Gupta, Independent Journalist, New Delhi, India 12. Freny Manecksha, Independent Journalist, Mumbai, India. 13. Samarendra Das, Senior Research Associate, University of Sussex, London, UK 14. Prabhakar Gwal, Former CJM of Sukma, Mahasamund District, Chhattisgarh, India 15. Pradeep Esteves, Context India, Bangalore, India 16. Max Ediger, Peace Activist, USA 17. Dr. Baiju Vareed, Social Work Instructor, Red Deer College, Red Deer Alberta, Canada 18. Dr. Ganesh Digal, Post Doctoral Fellow, Council of Social Development, Hyderabad 19. Vivek Sakpal, Editor, People’s Voice, Mumbai, India 20. Vidya Bhushan Rawat, Activist/ Writer, New Delhi, India 21. Inji Pennu, Global Voices and Global Advocacy, San Diego, California, USA 22. Akhilesh Edgar, Coordinator, Working Committee, Chhattisgarh Citizens’ Joint Action Committee, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India 23. Xavier Dias, Activist, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India 24. Phylis Zeenath Sathar, Artist, Durban, South Africa 25. Sharanya, Humane Koraput, Odisha, India 26. Subhadra Dora, Convenor, Regional Initiative for Tribal Empowerment and Solidarity, Malkangiri, Odisha 27. Ajay T G, Independent Filmmaker, Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India 28. Sanjeev Khudshah, Writer/ National General Secretary, Caste Annihilation Movement, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India 29. Halima Abdullah, Interfaith Cooperation Forum, Mindanao, Philippines 30. Dr. Piya Chatterjee, Chair, FGSS, Scripps College, Claremont Consortium, California, USA 31. Ashok Shrimali, Coordinator, Setu Centre for Social Knowledge and Action, Ahmedbad, Gujarat, India 32. Dr. Qudsia Anjum, President, Mahila Sanstha Parcham, Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 33. Dr. Preshit Nemdas Ambade, PhD Candidate University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizon, USA 34. Akash Poyam, Editor, Adivasi Resurgence, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India 35. Obed Manwatkar, Volunteer, Truthseekers International, PhD Scholar, Allahabad University, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India 36. Augustine Veliath, Chairperson, Nonviolence Foundation, New Delhi 37. Sherwani Amir Khan, Odisha Shramajeebee Mancha, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha 38. Makarand Purohit, Freelance Documentary Filmmaker, Durg, Chhattisgarh, India 39. Kavita Krishnan, Secretary, AIPWA, New Delhi 40. Heenrani Nayak, Mahila Shramjeebee Mancha-Odisha, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, India 41. Sagaya Shanthy, Visthar, Bangalore, Karnataka, India 42. Gopabandhu Sika, Vice President, Mulnivasi Students & Youth Front, Bargarh, Odisha, India 43. Meesha Bhagat, PhD Scholar, University of Jammu, Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir, India 44. Hemangi Kadlak, PhD Scholar, TISS, Mumbai, India 45. Sheetal Dinakar Kamble, PhD Scholar, TISS, Mumbai, India 46. Shabana Ali, PhD Scholar, School of Art and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India 47. Zeeshan Husain, PhD Scholar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India 48. Dishani Roy, Student, BA Sociology (Honours), Presidency University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India 49. Bobby Kunnu, Lawyer, Bangalore, Karnataka, India 50. Raya Steier, California, USA 51. Pramila K. P., PhD Scholar, Central University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telengana, India 52. Hemanta Dalapati, Poet/ Writer, Malkangiri, Odisha 53. Christopher Rajkumar, Executive Secretary, NCCI-Unity and Mission, National Council of Churches in India, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India GMG On 26 February 2018 at 16:00, Goldy M George <[email protected]> wrote: APOLOGIES FOR CROSS POSTINGWRITE BACK TO [email protected] Dear allYou might be aware that the students in TISS campus has entered their sixth day of strike against the withdrawal of the scholarship given to SC/ST people. One of their demands is to Stop Privatisation of educational institutions. I am sending you this solidarity letter that has agred and signed by many including TISS alumni, activists, academicians, journalists, writers, teachers, artists, filmmakers, students, researchers, professionals and other concerned people from across the globe. This mail comes to you for further endorsement. Please send me your COMPLETE NAME, POSITION, ORGANISATION/ INSTITUTION, LOCATIONWe would release it tomorrow (February 27, 2018) by 5 pm (IST) to all media and others. We would take all endorsement it till 4 PM (IST) on February 27, 2018. Please consider it as urgent. Those who have signed it need not endorse it again. Kindly forward it to people on your list serve to get maximum support. Warm regardsGMG -- ------------------------------ --- "Creation of a casteless, classless and peaceful society is indeed the first step towards just, egalitarian, and harmonious society. It is not just a struggle of one's identity, rather it is the struggle for the complete liberation of mankind. A society of equals, neither unequal nor more-equals, beyond the strings of caste, class, gender, race, ethnicity, etc. Otherwise it leads to social oppression, political exploitation, economic deprivation, cultural domination, gender discrimination, class isolation, deliberate exclusion. Lets’ believe in a society beyond this...." DR. GOLDY M. GEORGE+919893277910 -- ------------------------------ --- "Creation of a casteless, classless and peaceful society is indeed the first step towards just, egalitarian, and harmonious society. It is not just a struggle of one's identity, rather it is the struggle for the complete liberation of mankind. A society of equals, neither unequal nor more-equals, beyond the strings of caste, class, gender, race, ethnicity, etc. Otherwise it leads to social oppression, political exploitation, economic deprivation, cultural domination, gender discrimination, class isolation, deliberate exclusion. Lets’ believe in a society beyond this...." DR. GOLDY M. GEORGE+919893277910 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- Paromita Vohra PARODEVI PICTURES www.parodevipictures.comwww.agentsofishq.com@parodevi -- "हम हैं दीवाने फिर कैसा डर" -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. 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