KOLKATA, Sept. 29 -- A day after Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) students staged a silent protest against the clash that erupted between students and members of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP), Wednesday saw another protest on the campus. This time, the gathering was largely a show of solidarity with the students, with artists, technicians, filmmakers and members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) joining them.
Gathering near the gate of the renowned film institute, students held placards carrying slogans and photographs of three iconic Bengali filmmakers, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak and Satyajit Ray, after whom the institute is named. The students said education gives them the right to question what is right and wrong. Following Sunday's campus violence, state Higher Education Minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay had condemned violence at an educational institution and said the police investigation would establish who was responsible.
He had also objected to the alleged desecration of images of Swami Vivekananda and Bharat Mata. On Wednesday, however, students were also seen carrying posters of Swami Vivekananda.
"An institution is a place for students. Education is necessary to question those in power," said a CJP member at the gathering, while also raising questions about the right to free speech. Several Tollywood personalities, including Chaiti Ghosal, Ushasie Chakraborty and National Award-winning filmmaker Pradipta Bhattacharya, besides technicians and theatre practitioners, were present at Wednesday's gathering.
"These students are like my children. My son, Amartya Ray, is a passout of FTII. This is a film institute. Why would any administrative body give permission to a political outfit to hold any programme here?"
asked Ghosal.
As has often been the case, however, several prominent names from the Bengali film industry were missing from the ground. Celebrated filmmakers and actors, including Srijit Mukherji, Ritwik Chakraborty and Kaushik Ganguly, have voiced their support for the students on social media. Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap also condemned the act. Three FIRs have been registered in connection with the incident. Classes at SRFTI remain suspended for now.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.