Chennai: Leaders representing 10 student organisations in Tamil Nadu have slammed the IIT management’s decision to de-recognise Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSC) and the group’s activities. They maintained that APSC forums would be introduced in all colleges in the country. All democratic student organisations will hold a discussion at government-run institutions to introduce the ideas of E.V. Ramaswamy (Periyar) and B.R. Ambedkar.
They said the IIT-M acted on behalf of Hindutva forces such as RSS and similar organisations that “catered to the needs of the ruling party at the Centre”.“We are planning to bring this issue into the public foray in a bigger way in the coming days as the institution that is supposed to allow democratic voices to be heard has acted according to the wishes of the Modi government by curtailing the freedom of speech,” said K. Prabhakaran, president of Federation of Tamil Youth and Students along with nine other student leaders at a press meet here on Saturday.
He alleged that pro-Hindutva groups have for a long time trying to establish their foothold in the campus. The management had acted on behalf of these forces whose intention was to play divisive politics and keep all the secular and democratic parties at bay. Campus Front of India, a student organisation, held protests near the IIT-Madras on Saturday against the institution’ s decision.
