The University of Hyderabad (UoH) imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each on three students for conducting a ‘Shaheen Bagh Night’ event in the campus in solidarity with the protestors of Shaheen Bagh in Delhi who have been protesting against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The event at the UoH took place earlier in January. The university administration said that the penalized students did not have permission to continue the event after 9 pm, and had also alleged that they had defaced the campus walls with graffiti.
As punishment for defying the administration's orders, three students-- Faseeh Ahmed EK, Sahana Pradeep and AS Adish --were asked to pay Rs 5,000 each as fine within 10 days of the notice being served. The notice was served on Tuesday.
In its notice, the administration warned of taking “strong disciplinary action” if the students repeated the incident. “The students are sternly warned to be cautious and focus on their studies in future. Recurrence of such incidents or indulge in any acts of indiscipline would have serious repercussions on their academic career with strong disciplinary action,” the notice read.
Condemning the incident, the Students’ Union (SU) termed the actions of the university as “autocratic” and “undemocratic”, and demanded that they withdraw the fine imposed on the students, unconditionally.
The SU, in a strongly-worded statement, said, “An arbitrary circular barring events and protests within a specific time and venue decided by administration is not acceptable to the students and shall not be followed.”
Defending the actions of the students who organised the event, the SU said, “In the current national scenario, where anti-constitutional and anti-people laws are being passed in the country, universities cannot keep themselves in isolation. University spaces have always been a site of democratic dissent and protest since the national independence movement and will continue to be so in future also.”
Reacting to the threat of “strong disciplinary action,” they said, “The intimidation tried by administration will not force students to lock themselves up in their rooms and active resistance will be made every time administration tries to suppress the exercise of their democratic rights. (sic)”