Country Wide Support for FTII Students Strike

NEW DELHI: Support has started pouring in from across the country for the protesting students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. The news of Gajendra Chauhan’s appointment as Chairman of the Governing Council of FTII and the strike thereafter has spread like wildfire with strong responses being posted on the social media.

Chauhan’s claim to fame is his performance as ‘Yudhisther’ in the Television series Mahabharata. He turned his association with the Bharatiya Janata Party for over 20 years into official membership in 2004, and had campaigned extensively for the party in Haryana during the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections last year. Apart from Chauhan there are other controversial appointees in the Governing council like Anagha Ghaisas and Shailesh Gupta. Both are known for making political propaganda films.

Students of FTII have started an online petition on Avaaz.org addressed to Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley to reinstate Chauhan’s appointmet.

Online petition on avaaz.org addressed to Arun Jaitley

Earlier, on Friday, the student body had come up with an official statement condemning the appointment saying that they are not going to take the bait unlike NFDC (National Film Development Corporation of India) and CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) where government has meddled with appointments.

Official statement by the Students’ Association of FTII, Pune

Students of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata also protested in support of the strike along with a brave and vocal official statement by the student body. Quoting from the statement- “In this regard we would also like to mention that we remember the members of ABVP had managed to attack four of the FTII students not so long ago outside the premises of NFAI (National Film Archives of India), Pune. The appointment of Gajendra Chauhan seems to be a step taken to ensure that the same group of people who on one hand had tried to silence the rights of the students by brute force in the past can sneak in, in the guise of officials to ensure compliance to their draconian order. Aversion or denial of a diverse social narrative voids the rudimentary purpose that a Film School serves in the society.”

Official Statement by the Students’ Association of SRFTI, Kolkata

Protesting students at SRFTI, Kolkata

Filmmaker Gurvinder Singh whose film “Chauthi Koot” was a part of Cannes Film Festival this year also came out in support of the students on social media.