Students and youth protest in Kalaburagi Against
All Karnataka State Students Association staged a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Kalaburagi on March 27 against growing unemployment, lakhs of vacancies across departments, lack of transparency in the recruitment process, and the poor condition of Prabuddha Academy, a coaching centre for unemployed students which incurred a cost Rs. 30 crore. The protest was joined by hundreds of unemployed youth who called the state government out for its tokenism and poor execution shown in its mismanagement of funds and poor planning of projects. They demanded the handover of recent appointments from Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), scholarships for students training for competitive exams, merit-based recruitment, and establishment of industries in Kalaburagi for sustainable employment. AKSSA warned of state-wide protests if the recruitment process is not initiated immediately.
Panjab University Students Protest Against Sangh-BJP Speakers on Campus
Student organisations at Panjab University gathered in protest on March 9th against the detention and manhandling of the students who protested against RSS and BJP-linked speakers being invited to an event titled “Sacrifice, Equality and Moral Authority: Sikh History, Guru Tegh Bahadur and the Panj Pyare in the Indian Civilisational Ethos.” They demanded a ban on RSS and BJP activities on campus, and action against the police personnel involved. Student organisations had demanded the cancellation of the event in advance, and proceeded with a march at the time of the event, when the police manhandled them, dislodging Sikh students’ turbans and kirpans. The university claimed the detentions were a precautionary measure to prevent disruption on campus.
Sleep-in Protest at Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies After Death of Minor Student
Students of Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT) of Andhra Pradesh started a sleep-in protest in front of the vice-chancellor’s office on March 17, demanding better medical facilities including basic amenities like diagnostic centres and adequate doctors and nursing staff on campus, and compensation for the parents of a 17-year-old student who died of leukaemia while undergoing treatment at Gandhi Hospital. The bereaved parents have also alleged negligence and poor response from the university. Stating that the death could have been prevented through an early diagnosis and adequate medical facilities, the students vowed to continue the protest until their demands are met. The university declared holidays for pre-university students from March 23 to ‘prevent disruption’.
Students Abducted by Delhi Police Special Cell Reveal Brutal Custodial Torture
The six students who were abducted by Delhi Police Special Cell have disclosed severe physical, psychological, sexual, caste-based, and Islamophobic abuse, including rape and death threats, being forced to record false statements, and sign blank papers and notices before being released. The student activists had been abducted by unidentified personnel in plain clothes between 12 and 14th March. Two labour rights activists and two anti-displacement activists were also abducted and tortured in a similar manner while in custody.
Protest at Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University by Students
Members of Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha staged a protest at the university in Bareilly on March 29, sought to meet the vice-chancellor regarding biased recruitment and violation of reservation policies, and submitted a memorandum to the registrar alleging violations of UGC 2018 regulations. Lack of facilities was also highlighted. They were informed that the vice-chancellor was out of station.
