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In a major move, the administration of Hyderabad’s Osmania University (OU) has decided to ban public meetings and political events in its campus, and issued a notice on the matter, on Wednesday evening.
In a press statement, all students, researchers, teaching and non-teaching staff were informed that activities unrelated to academics would not be permitted on campus.
Following the statement, there was an immediate backlash on social media, as many pointed out that the campus was the centre of the Telangana movement that was led by the students, and ultimately gave Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao his present post.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, OU Teachers Association president Battu Satyanaryana argued that students were welcome to host meetings inside auditoriums and halls, but not in public spaces of the campus.
Taking to Facebook, Krishank Mane, official spokesperson for the OU Joint Action Committee, said:
Many also compared this move to the state's move to shift 'dharna chowk' from Indira Park in the heart of Hyderabad to the city's outskirts.
Dharna chowk had been the epicentre for thousands of protests, for over two decades, and also saw a lot of activity during the Telangana movement.
However, in March this year, the Telangana government decided to shift the venue to the outskirts of the city, citing 'law and order' problems as the site is close to the secretariat.
Critics of the move were not satisfied and escalating protests led to a massive clash in May. Pro- and anti-government protesters clashed at the venue in response to the TJAC’s call to “Occupy Dharna Chowk”.
(This article has been published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)
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