FTII director Prashant Pathrabe was gheraoed by agitating Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) students in his office earlier this evening. Atikh Rashid of The Indian Express tweeted out a blow by blow account of the developments on the ground.
Pathrabe, who was inside the FTII campus office along with students, confirmed that he had been gheraoed by them and also told that he was “safe”.
The agitating FTII students, whose strike against the appointment of BJP member and TV actor Gajendra Chauhan entered its 68th day today, called the “assessment” of the film projects of the 2008 batch undertaken by the faculty as “irrational and unjustified” since the work was incomplete in the absence of audiography and editing.
The FTII Students’ Association (FSA) has alleged that the move was politically motivated and aimed at getting rid of about 50 inmates belonging to the 2008 batch on the ground of “overstaying” due to incomplete projects.
According to an FSA statement, the FTII director told the students that that the ministry wanted him to go ahead with the “assessment” despite the student protest.
The director suggested that we speak to the Joint Secretary (Information & Broadcasting Ministry) directly, but he refuses to take our calls.
— Ranjit Nair, FSA representative
FTII students have been protesting against Chauhan’s appointment as FTII chairman, saying that he had neither any credentials nor any academic excellence to head the institution.
The Quint spoke to a few students in FTII who said that they were forced to make a move like the gherao as the standard procedure of assessment was not being followed in light of the recent protests. Ideally, after the completion of all projects, the assessment is carried out with the approval of the Academic council and in the presence of external faculties and experts.
The students also added that after today’s developments, all faculty members have been ordered to hold the assessment till Tuesday morning.
(With Inputs from PTI)
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