After a first-year Chemistry student of UC College, a prestigious government college in Thiruvananthapuram, attempted suicide last Friday, several students of the college have now spoken out against the unchecked reign of the SFI (student wing of CPI(M)) on campus.
On Friday, the staff of the college found the 18-year-old student lying injured in the toilet of the campus. She had slit her wrists and in her suicide note, written that she was allegedly harassed by some SFI workers, who did not let her attend classes.
“The woman had been missing since Thursday and her parents filed a missing complaint at the Attingal police station. On Friday, she was found to have attempted suicide,” Sub-Inspector Anil Kumar of the Thiruvananthapuram Cantonment police station told TNM.
In her suicide note, which she later withdrew, the woman blames the college union led by SFI, its members and Principal of UC college, Thiruvananthapuram, for ruining her academic future. She alleges that the party workers forced her to cut classes and attend party events.
“I was once forced to attend the Secretariat march (political protest) despite requesting them to let me stay in class as I was unwell. I was pulled out of the classroom and made to walk under the scorching sun by the SFI workers. When I decided to catch the 3.30 pm bus back home and walked away, they followed me, yelled at me and even attempted to touch me inappropriately. Despite submitting a complaint to the college principal, he paid no heed to the issue,” the note states.
The woman states that she was also once forced to miss her Physics Internal examination by the SFI workers.
“As there were no classes on the eve of the Physics internal exam, I was getting ready to go home. However, I was forced to attend an event the SFI organised and as a result, I could not prepare or even attempt the exam the following day,” the note states.
More voices against SFI
Nayana Vijayakumar, an alumna of UC college, condemned the autocratic reign of the SFI in the campus, in her Facebook post on May 6.
“They (SFI workers) would even force us to sit throughout, till the end of the programme, even if we request them to let us go and mention our hostel timings. I have had personal experience in this regard as I stayed in a convent hostel where I had to enter before 6 pm,” she said.
Speaking to TNM, a second-year BA Political Science student Avinash* alleged that the tyranny of SFI on campus prevented students from speaking out or raising complaints.
“The SFI has made it a routine to terrorise those who have political ideologies that vary from theirs. They hijack all campus elections and assault candidates from other parties who wish to file their nomination. Classes seldom take place and students are forced to cut lecture classes and attend political events of the CPI(M), DYFI, (Youth wing of the party and the SFI union and Chief Minister's events,” Avinash alleged. Vivaan, another student from the college added that boys were not spared from these events even on the weekeds.
Ananditha*, another 3rd year student of the college added to these allegations.
“I joined this college in 2017. To date I have not been a part of student politics. In 2017 and 2018 I have not seen an election happen in this college. Only SFI candidates are allowed to file nominations. They don’t let candidates from other parties contest,” she said.
Avinash furter added that the college has delayed conducting regular semester exams and releasing results, indicating that it could be due to the heavy influence of the party, which has hijacked routine academic affairs.
“In the last two years, we had three semester exams and zero improvement exams (tests held to clear arrears). Out of this, results of only one semester exam has been released till now,” Avinash alleged.
Moral policing and harassment of first and second years students, too, has become a routine of the SFI workers, both Avinash and Nayana alleged.
In February 2017, three students of the college filed a police complaint against SFI workers for alleged moral policing and subsequent assault on one of them.
According to their complaint, the three students, comprising two girls and one boy, had been watching a play on the campus when they were accosted and verbally abused by three-four SFI workers. Later, the boy was beaten up by them, the complaint stated.
While the students filed a police complaint against the SFI workers, the accused, in turn, filed a counter-complaint stating that the boy had misbehaved with one of the girls. The three students also stated that the incident had taken place in front of the Vice Principal and yet, no immediate action was taken.
In December 2018, two traffic cops in Palayam were brutally beaten up by SFI workers from UC College for stopping a bike that violated traffic rules by taking a U-turn. According to reports, the rider had got into an argument with the police after he was caught. He allegedly assaulted them and subsequently rang up SFI workers from UC College, who joined him.
Victim booked for ‘committing suicide’
Post her suicide attempt, the police have now filed a case against the victim.
“A case has been registered under section 309 (attempt to commit suicide) of the Indian Penal Code,” the SI of Cantonment police station told TNM.
This despite the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 decriminalising attempted suicide, with the law clearly stating that IPC provisions cannot be invoked in the case of attempt to suicide.
However, in response to the query on decriminalisation of attempted suicide, the Cantonment police officers stated that only those persons who have been found to be ‘mentally unwell’ come under the protection of the MCHA 2017. For others, attempted suicide remains a punishable offence.
The statements by the Cantonment police are in violation of the MCHA Act, which states that, "Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code, any person who attempts to commit suicide shall be presumed, unless proved otherwise, to have severe stress and shall not be tried and punished under the said Code.”
Attempts to further victimise woman
The victim also withdrew allegations against the SFI Union of her college, its members and the principal in her statement to the magistrate. This, students protesting at the college allege, is due to immense pressure and threats from the party members.
Meanwhile, a well-organised smear campaign is being held against the victim in the college, according to Avinash. She is also facing grave threats, he added.
“There are voice notes forwarded on WhatsApp groups calling her a psycho. Fake stories about a love failure are being spun around her. As far as I know, she has now been moved from her house in Attingal and she is staying at a relative’s house,” Avinash added.
Speaking to TNM, UC college Principal-in-charge Anil Kumar said, “We are looking into the student’s allegations. We have constituted a five-member inquiry committee consisting of women professors from our college. They have spoken to the student on Thursday and they will come up with a detailed report soon.”
Meanwhile, UC College Students Union Chairman Amal Mohammad rejected the allegations of harassment and fascism by the party.
“We don’t blame the student concerned. She has gone through a traumatic experience. As far as her suicide note goes, she has not mentioned any members of the students union. We lost a lot of classes during the floods and the Sabarimala issue from late 2018 until the beginning of this year. Besides, professors had to go for evaluation camps. All of this, I presume, led to her disappointment.”
So why do very few students raise their voices against this political tyranny?
“...they (everyone) want to fulfil their academic requirements and successfully pass out of this institute, which is renowned as the topmost in the NIRF (National Institute Ranking Framework) rankings from Kerala,” Nayana observed in her post.
“The college, especially it’s Political Science course, is well-reputed and students want to stick on and finish their course. That being said, there are several first-year students who drop out of the college as they are unable to bear the harassment and policing by the seniors in the party,” Avinash added.
Amal, however, argued that it was impossible to function autocratically in a college with 3,000 plus students.
“If we really are autocratic, we would have got all 3,000 students to participate in the SFI events. Besides, how is it possible for a 13-member union and 33-member committee to control 3,000 plus students?” he asked.