Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) students, alumini and supporters protested with quirky slogans and halla bol over the weekend outside Shastri Bhavan. In less than an hour the protestors were taken to the Parliament Street Police Station and detained there before being allowed to go.
“Why FTII is shut down for the past 24 days is an example that the youth of this country has hope from their government. Stirring a protest may not always mean that a group of individuals involved are angered and rebellious. It also means that they have come forward to have a hand in change,” says Reema Kaur from FTII. She is part of the delegation which met the Information and Broadcasting Ministry regarding the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as chairman.
Rahul Sharma who is presently pursuing Masters in Conservation from National Museum expresses anger over the transfer of former FTII chief Venu Vasudevan. He tells Metrolife, “I am here to stand in solidarity with FTII which has been the only body to have spoken against procedural opacity in the changes being made in education.”
The afternoon saw student protestors from JNU, National Book Trust and others joining their FTII counterparts in the protest. Faculty and members of the other institutions too were present to lend support but were not ready to protest vocally with the students. They hung around providing tea and moral support.
An agitated Kaur says, “FTII does not have a permanent faculty as such and, the other faculty members on contract cannot take part in such protests as they are also employees and will risk their livelihood. This is why Indian Council for Historical Reasearch, Lalit Kala Akademi, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Indian Institute of Technology did not see any protest like this. They are government servants at the end of the day,” she says.
“FTII is the flash point, but educational and cultural institutions are yardsticks for democracy,” says Sanjeev Kumar from Janwadi Lekhak Sangh who was protesting along with FTII students.
Prateek Vats, FTII alumini, who was also part of the delegation to hold dialogue with Information and Broadcasting Ministry says, “People have misunderstood that our fight is against Gajendra Chauhan. We merely want procedural transparency. Under what category of ‘people of eminence’ has Chauhan, Narendra Pathak, Anagha Ghaisas and Rahul Solapurkar been appointed?”
Vats adds, “Our fight is not against Gajendra Chauhan’s political affiliation or anything political, which now has been reduced to Facebook memes, tweets etc. In a body where personalities like Jahnu Barua and Vidya Balan are a part, how do these four fit in?” wonders Vats. “The ministry panel simply said that once such an appointment is made public they cannot take their decision back,” he adds.
In the FTII society the chairman of the governing council is the one who ratifies decisions of the academic council and hence is the highest visionary of the institution. “Therefore Chauhan clearly becomes a ‘better visionary’ than Jahnu Barua and Vidya Balan, who have much more ‘eminence’ in the film industry,” he smirks.
Apparently, this is not the first time the ministry has hinted at privatisation of institution. “They have always referred to it (FTII) as a loss-making body. But an institution that has provided individuals who have brought India national and international fame through their work, cannot be weighed against the monetary profit it makes. FTII, unlike NID and some others, stands out because of its minimal fees which allows people from lower strata to also become part of an institution which is recognised all over the world,” says Vats.
Krishnarjun Bhattacharya, an alumini and also author of Tantrics of the Old says, “Given that the FTII protest has reached over 20 states in the country, shows that there is solidarity. FTII will remain locked down until Chauhan and the others are removed and we will not follow the trajectory of other institutions who have unwillingly or willingly adjusted their conscience with systemic changes made by the
new government.”