Maharaja college revokes students’ suspension

The council comprising 19 department heads and two elected members apart from the hostel warden and the PTA secretary decided to reduce the suspension period from the original 10 days to five days so that the students could now come to the college on Wednesday.

The students had organized the Hug of Love protest in support of the ‘Kiss of Love’ campaign against moral policing in the State in the aftermath of an attack on a restaurant in Kozhikode recently.

Principal T.V.Francy said the protest was organised without obtaining the permission of the college authorities and the suspension was for that. Though the authorities had prohibited Hug of Love, the students defied it.

The media attention on the happenings in the college is also understood to have influenced the authorities in swiftly convening the teachers’ council meeting and revoking the suspension.The authorities also took into consideration the tension that was triggered on the college campus following the protest.

Students in large numbers again resorted to a Hug of Love campaign on the campus on Monday too, but this time they restricted it to girls hugging girls and boys hugging boys only, which sent a message of defiance to the college authorities. The teachers’ council felt it would not be wise to allow things to precipitate further.

Meanwhile, there were also reports that fissures had developed in the Students Federation of India in its approach towards the strike. While a section supported the strike, several in the organization opposed its mode.

On Tuesday, a section of students of the Government Law College, Ernakulam, staged a novel protest by painting each others cheeks in support of Hug of Love and demanded that the suspension be revoked. Over 30 students participated in it which was inaugurated by film director Rajeev Ravi. The protesters were jeered at by a section from the anti-protest crowd.