College professors say activists entered classrooms, stopped lectures
Collegeu00a0professors say activists entered classrooms, stopped lecturesHigh drama ensued in city colleges yesterday as activists of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) entered classrooms and asked students to join them in a rally to support Anna Hazare's fight against corruption.
According to professors from various city colleges, the activists entered the classrooms without permission; some colleges said they had allowed the activists to raise slogans on the campus.
Demonstrators supporting Anna Hazare's crusade light torches as
darkness descends on the cityAt Fergusson College, professors alleged that activists who were accompanied by a few students from the college entered the classrooms undetected. "Our college security wasn't aware that they are activists and mistook them for students and allowed them inside the campus. Once in, they directly entered the classrooms and asked students to join them. We didn't dare to stop them fearing repercussions but their attitude was very wrong. In fact they came in twice during the day, once during morning and later during afternoon lectures, disrupting classes," said a senior professor.
A candlelight march for Hazare at another protest venue.u00a0Pic/Krunal
Gosavi At Garware College, the activists entered the college around 2 pm and by 2.15 pm the entire college had emptied out. "Its true that the college shut down lectures in 15 minutes, but I didn't hear anything about their forcing any students out of classes," said Principal Shrikant Gupta. Asked if he had given permission to the activists to enter classrooms, he said he had not.
"It was so unruly for them to enter classes without permission, just like it were goonda raj," said a professor.
At ILS Law College and Wadia College, where ABVP activists had gone to appeal early in the morning, lectures were shut the entire day.
But at colleges like MMCC, Principal M D Lawrence said that the activism stayed limited to raising slogans.
"We didn't allow them to enter the campus so classes weren't affected. They came and raised slogans and went away," said Lawrence.
The Other SideNikhil Karampuri, a member of ABVP, Pune, said that no students were forced out of classes. "We first met the principals, who told us that officially they can't endorse the rally or ask students to join in it. They suggested we directly appeal (to the students) by entering classrooms. At some places like ILS and Wadia, the college management decided not to hold lectures," he said.
According to him, the professors must have felt aggrieved as a large number of students left classrooms soon after the activists made their appeal. "More than 2,200 students from 30 colleges joined in across seven spots in the city. Maybe, professors are upset as students emptied classrooms the moment they heard the call for joining the rally," he said.
