Madras University professors stage demo in front of Centenary Buildings

Chennai: Seeking stringent action against two students of the department of legal studies who allegedly attacked their head of department, professors of Madras University staged a demonstration in front of the Centenary Buildings on Monday.

Jeevanandam and Ranjithkumar, first and second-year students of ML course, on Thursday evening allegedly threw a chair at their head of department David Ambrose after an altercation regarding their exam marks. In the attack, Ambrose was injured in the nose and hospitalised.

S.Sundaram, head of the department of Indian History said, “There are more than 80 departments in the university, but students from two or three departments alone are creating lots of trouble. The administration should not have allowed the situation to escalate so much that a faculty member was attacked. We all strongly condemn the attack.”

In an internally circulated email, a professor wrote to her colleagues about the incident saying student behaviour like this cannot be taken lightly. “I can become a soft target for some disgruntled youths with unreasonable demands. Are we at risk of being physically harmed even in the hallowed grounds of our university?” she asked.

Sumathi, head, Department of Anthropology, said, “I have never seen such an incident in the university. There is no necessity to attack the teacher who nurtures the students. The university is known for its research. But now the scenario has changed. Some vested interests in the university are inculcating this kind of culture among students. We need to take serious action against these students.”