“Why was I expelled?”: Presidency University student Olivia speaks out on the controversy

On 13 th October, various educational institutes were attacked, including Jadavpur University, Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), University of Calcutta, various colleges in Rajabazar, Alipurduar College. We organised a solidarity programme against these attacks. Members from various student organisations and university students expressed their solidarity through songs, dance, poetry and speeches.

We had two murals on our campus depicting Rohith Vemula and Chuni Kotal. However, these were erased following orders from the government during our NAAC inspection. We decided to recreate these murals. The faces of these individuals mean a lot to us. Their fight is an important part of the student movement. We cannot forget their stories, their struggle against social discrimination and the circumstances of their deaths. It is vital that we remember these when we move forward with future student movements. We obtained permission from the relevant authorities to recreate the murals.

Following the incident at Jadavpur University, ABVP members attempted to assert their presence on our campus. They put up their flags. Similarly, on 4 th October, ABVP members entered the campus at SRFTI.

A while ago, an ABVP organiser had publicly declared during a General Body (GB) meeting on our campus that they would not attend classes if any of the professors were Muslim. They also claimed that it was a Hindu College and that the institution continued the legacy of Hindu College. This was obviously targeting one religion. Left wing students questioned this statement. However, instead of answering, they filed a General Diary (GD) against us.

An ABVP recruitment poster had been put up. Students were writing protest slogans across the campus. I decided to join in. I sprayed the ABVP poster with the words ‘Rapist’, ‘Casteist’ and ‘Fuck RSS’. I also drew an arrow pointing to the bottom of the poster and wrote 'Throw garbage here'.

Why?

We wrote ‘Rapist’ as we believe that members associated with ABVP politics had entered various campuses, including Jadavpur University and SRFTI. They had threatened to rape female students. Furthermore, we believe that the politics of the RSS is connected to the larger political issues surrounding incidents like Hathras, Unnao and Kathua. ABVP follow the larger ideology of the RSS so we used this word.

We wrote ‘Casteist’ as we believe the politics of the RSS and ABVP caused caste discrimination and hierarchy which led to Rohith Vemula being expelled from the University of Hyderabad. His death was an institutional murder. His death showed us how caste discrimination within educational institutions can ruin a student’s life.

‘Fuck RSS’ is a form of protest that our generation uses. We wanted to show our anger and directly protest against the Brahminical Hindutva politics of RSS, BJP and ABVP. We also connected to the protest culture of Black youths in the United States. A song was born from this protest culture called 'Fuck the Police'. This used direct language to challenge authority. We feel we are part of this protest culture.

Later, Professor Gaurav Lama from Presidency University took pictures of the incident and posted them on Facebook. He tagged Suvendu Adhikari and Kolkata Police.

Later, an FIR was filed at Jorasanko Police Station. The university were also informed that we had insulted the national icon, Swami Vivekananda.

A meeting was held with the Disciplinary Committee of the university. We attended the meeting. I admitted that I had written the words on the ABVP poster. We strongly disagree with the politics of ABVP and wanted to protest.

However, I was constantly questioned why I had written offensive words on the portrait of Swami Vivekananda. I kept explaining that I had not written anything on his portrait. The words were written on the ABVP recruitment poster. I believe this incident is being misrepresented.

We were given the notice of our expulsion around 6:15pm on Saturday. This was just before the Diwali holidays. We were informed by the university that we had been expelled.

The reason for our punishment was:

'Disfigurement of the portrait of Swami Vivekananda and the reported use of inappropriate language concerning other organizations'

We had been accused of defacing the portrait of Swami Vivekananda and using inappropriate language towards another organisation.

However, I had constantly explained that I had not written anything on his portrait. The words had been written on the ABVP poster. However, they did not listen to my explanation and misrepresented the situation.

The issue with the letter we received is that it is unclear what it means to expel a former student. The wording is odd and says 'Expelled from studentship and post-studentship activities'. This makes us believe that we have been expelled from being a student and any activities we do after graduating.

I still need to collect my results, transcripts and recommendation letters from the university. I have also passed my Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) exam in my last attempt. I was going to do my PhD at Presidency University.

However, the notice says I am 'Barred from enrolling in any future degree programs'. This means I may no longer be able to do any degrees at the university. The campus I was going to continue my higher education and research at has now shut its doors in my face. I am unsure about my research.

The other student has received the same punishment. However, she was not accused of writing anything on the poster. She had only drawn an arrow next to it. I had written 'Throw garbage here' next to the arrow. She had nothing to do with me writing the words.

This can be proven by looking at the CCTV footage from our campus. However, we have not been shown this.

She had nothing to do with writing the words but has still received the same punishment. Initially she was intimidated by the authorities and forced to apologise. However, even after apologising she was still expelled.

Our campus has a strong history of dialogue. We have always been able to sit down with the administration, professors and students to discuss issues. I had trust in this process so attended the committee and admitted to what can be seen on the CCTV footage.

However, we have still not been shown the report from the inquiry committee.

The Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikari has publicly mentioned that he will start a 'clean-up drive' on campuses against ‘dimagi Naxals’. We believe we should look at this in the larger political context.

We have emailed the Dean. We are also looking into appealing to the Vice-Chancellor. We will seek advice from lawyers to see if we should go to court.

We have emailed the Dean of Arts asking for the report from the inquiry committee. We have also asked for the reason we have been expelled and a detailed explanation. We need this information to officially appeal.

The Vice-Chancellor is the highest authority in the university. Once we have the information we can appeal.

However, we have received the notice just before Diwali. This has made things more difficult. If we do not get satisfactory answers we will take legal action.

Our Alumni Association have started a petition. There are two petitions. One is being organised by former students of the university and the other by concerned citizens who are not directly related to Presidency University.

Once we have collected signatures we will send both petitions to the Vice-Chancellor, Registrar and Dean. Alumni from our Department of Sociology have also taken the initiative to submit a petition.

(Transcribed from an interview)