The temporary de-recognition by the IIT Madras management of the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle, a left initiative at IIT Madras campus has succeeded in uniting the Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu barring the BJP which were otherwise struggling to find a common ground to work together. Sunday saw M Karunanidhi, the grand old man of Indian politics, asking for the immediate intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the crisis generated by the de-recognition of the APSC.
According to Karunanidhi (93), the IIT Madras has turned into a war zone because of the IIT-M management’s decision to de-recognise the APSC. “The de-recognition of APSC should be revoked immediately to ensure that peace is returned to the IIT campus. Because of this action, the otherwise peaceful campus has turned into a war zone,” said Karunanidhi. He blamed the ruling AIADMK for its silence over the issue which has given an impression that it too was following the policy of fomenting communal polarisation.
Except for the BJP, all major parties and caste groups have come out in the open challenging the de-recognition of the APSC based on an anonymous letter. The BJP leadership in Tamil Nadu questioned the propriety of the APSC making use of the facilities in a politically neutral educational campus to criticise centre.
Meanwhile, leaders of the APSC said they would strive hard to set up branches in all educational institutions, including all IITs in the country. Sources in IIT Madras said the APSC was a brainchild of the CPI(M). “The appointment of Sitaram Yechury as CPI(M) general secretary has given us a major psychological boost. Our objective is to highlight the high discrimination prevailing in IIT staff appointment,” said one of the student activists.
Akhil, a APSC activist , furnished details of an RTI data from the IIT-M management which mentions that out of the 536 teaching staff in IIT Madras, only 13 were from the SC and ST categories. “Even the OBC sections have not received the mandatory quota,” said Akhil. Sources in IIT Madras disagreed with the contention of the DMK patriarch that there was a war like situation in the campus. “It is the politicians who are trying to create problems in the IIT Madras to tarnish its reputation as an autonomous institution,” said the faculty member who did not want his name to be quoted.