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The agitation has completely crippled the higher education sector in Manipur with all of the 86 undergraduate colleges, affiliated to the university affected by the shutdown. Endorsing the demand of the students, 29 of the 31 Heads of Departments of the university have quit their posts and six deans of the university have tendered their resignation, jeopardizing the academic careers of over a lakh of students, pursuing higher studies in Manipur.
The students’ protest has witnessed locked down of all departments of the university including its administrative block, relay hunger strike by students and teachers, gheraoing of State Governor’s residence, Chief Minister’s Secretariat and the Head Office of BJP, Manipur Pradesh, a 48 hours shutdown strike of the entire state, suspension of mobile data service for 5 days in the entire state and several police-protestor confrontation, resulting in tearing gassing, lathi-charge and injuries of at least five agitating students. Ironically, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the sole authority to resolve the impasse to normalize the situation and rescue the careers of the students has so far seen as taking the side of the AP Pandey and shielding him from the onslaught. BPJ MP, Prahlad Singh Patel while responding to question in the Parliament by Manipur MP Thokchom Meinya on the impasse said that Manipur University is a den of militants, indicating that the BPJ is shielding the controversial VP.
Apparently, the VP has reported to the HRD Ministry and BJP central leadership that he is under threat from militants for not coughing out Rs 5 crores as demanded by the militants. Meanwhile Manipur Deputy Chief Minister, Yumnam Joykumar had told the agitating students that the ‘extortion story’ is fabricated. The Deputy CM said this when he came to pacify the protestors to call off the shutdown agitation in the interest of the student community.
The man in the eye of the storm, AP Pandey was previously head of the economics department at Benares Hindu University, UP before taking over the Manipur University in October 2016 as its Vice-Chancellor. His employment by the HRD Ministry came following the resignation of the then VC H. Nandakumar Sharma over a similar agitation by the students’ community over reservation of seats under the Central Education Institutions (Reservation in Administration) Amendment Act, 2012.
Dayaman Mayanglambam, President of Manipur University Students’Union, MUSU, the body spearheading the agitation for the removal of AP Pandey told Eastern Panorama that Pandey’s appointment was seen by all that he would solve many of the pending issues confronting university, “however, what we have seen is the opposite of it, even though it has been nearly two years now.”
Pandey’s wife, Veena Pandey happens to be an influential BJP leader well connected with the who’s who of the BJP and RSS. She has served as member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council and has held several positions in the BJP. In 2004, she had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket from Uttar Pradesh’s Sultanpur.
Sunzu Bachaspatimayum
To read the further article please get your copy of Eastern Panorama August issue @http://www.magzter.com/IN/Hill-Publications/Eastern-Panorama/News/ or mail to contact @easternpanorama.in
