Students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) protested outside the institute’s main gate in Pune on Tuesday in solidarity with students of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata, who have been on an indefinite strike since October 12. The FTII students demanded that the rustication of six SRFTI students be revoked and sought action over alleged violence on the Kolkata campus.
The SRFTI strike followed violence reported after students opposed a programme organised on the campus on September 27 by an organisation described in the report as affiliated with the right wing. Students alleged that they were assaulted during the incident. The FTII protesters repeated demands raised by the SRFTI student union, including accountability for those who permitted the programme and protection for students participating in peaceful protests.
The rustication order is disputed. According to an official notification issued by the SRFTI administration, the six students were rusticated for specific acts of misconduct, including vandalism, defacement and physical assault. The students have disputed that account and maintained that the disciplinary action was being used against their protest.
In a statement cited in the report, the SRFTI administration said the institute upheld the right to peaceful dissent while ensuring accountability under its rules. The administration also said that it had filed a formal complaint with the authorities concerned after an October 4 incident and was taking measures to strengthen campus security and protect the SRFTI community.
Malavika Ezhapilly, a member of the SRFTI student union, said another organisation marched to the institute on October 4, threw stones and bottles at students, and injured two of them. She also alleged that access to the administrative building housing the campus’s only water filter had been restricted after 7 pm on weekdays and throughout weekends.
Ezhapilly further said that the institute announced on October 16 that the campus would remain closed until November 13. According to her account, the announcement included the closure of the mess and canteen and asked students to vacate the hostels. She described these steps as administrative pressure intended to weaken the protest. The allegations were presented as the students’ account and were not independently established in the supplied report.
The SRFTI Student Union is demanding the resignation of the vice-chancellor, withdrawal of the rustication notices, and a meeting to establish accountability for those who allowed the external organisation’s programme to take place on campus. It is also seeking amendments to the institute’s bylaws to prevent SRFTI premises from being rented to external organisations without adequate safeguards.
The protest places campus access, security, disciplinary procedures and the use of educational premises at the centre of the dispute. It also brings the administration’s response to student demonstrations into focus, with the two sides offering differing accounts of the events and disciplinary action. The SRFTI administration’s stated next steps are the formal complaint to the authorities and measures to strengthen campus security and ensure the well-being of students and staff.
