On April 1, an anonymous blog sprung up on the question-answer website Quora that seemed to confirm the rumours about the troubles brewing at the Indian Institute of Technology in Jodhpur. As posts started coming in, the anger among student against their "dictator director" who is facing a tough time in office due to resistance against his orders, be it termination of teachers or a questionable code of conduct, was clear.
On Sunday, the institute woke up to an unusually frenzied weekend morning. Students could be seen roaming around in groups getting the logistics right before they finally errected a tombstone in the middle of the campus for what was going to be a mock funeral. Students, who had been agitating against the director CVR Murthy since January, sat in silence as they buried “peace of mind” in their attempt to send him another scathing message.
"It is the peace of our mind, which has been snatched away from us and to mark this, we have organised a mock funeral of peace and mind," a student told PTI.
Code of Conduct
The agitation in the institute against the director has been going on for months now but only gained momentum in January when a new "code of conduct" issued. The code put many restrictions on the students, such as barring them from speaking to the media about the institute. This led to an instant backlash from the students, who said the directives were "dictatorial" and even "unconstitutional".
The code also bars them from writing anything controversial about the institute on any forum, associating directly or indirectly with a political outfit and even prohibits them from writing anything of political nature for any publication.
“This code of conduct is one of the worst things that could happen in an IIT where students are expected to rise and shine,” said Deepshi Garg, a student of engineering at the institute. “We have been barred from speaking about the institute completely and this is a big question on freedom of speech and even constitutional applicability of this unlawful order.”
Another student explained that even the teachers are united in the protest against the director. “He has done more harm than imaginable to the institution that once stood for quality,” the student said, adding that several staff had been sacked in recent months. “The code of conduct is the final nail in the coffin for him.”
Disappearing faculty
Students alleged that nine faculty members have been terminated in the past year, and eight others have resigned. “His attitude resembles that of a dictator,” said one student. “The teachers were terminated for vague reasons, citing internal committee reports which have never been made public. Even after filing a Right To Information application, we couldn’t access those reports.”
A group of protesters said in an email message that the faculty shortage is one of the problems that the agitation aims to highlight. As against the requirement of more than 90, there are only 43 teachers present at the moment, the students said. Blaming the director, their email message said, “Due to his dictatorial mindset, which is intolerant of any criticism, faculty attrition has increased like never before. Most of them [faculty members] complained about internal politics, lack of freedom to work, and harassment by the director as the reasons for leaving.”
Lab lockdown
Students have also spoken against the shuttering of research and entrepreneurship facilities at the institute. “For reasons we still cannot understand, he’s shut down every single research and entrepreneurship facility,” wrote Samrat Oberoi, a student from the institute in a blog post. “He shut down the NI [National Instruments] Lab and the SoC [System-of-Chip] Labs, and also closed the IIC [Innovation and Incubation Centre], inaugurated by the President of India. This means tremendous amounts of national funds and manpower are wasted,” the post further said.
The lack of teachers and facilities has left research and doctoral students in the lurch. “It’s now or never for this IIT,” said a student pursuing research. “He has always divided students and ruled but now every one is finally united against him.”
Following termination of another professor Ganesh Bagler on 29 March 2015, protests took a serious turn as the students approached the Ministry of Human Resources and Development to terminate the director along with a petition signed by 770 students.
The director did not respond to an email requesting a response, but he has previously dismissed these allegations. "After completing a year's probation, a committee reviews standards of faculty members and takes a call on retention or termination," Murthy was quoted in the Times of India as saying.
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On Sunday, the institute woke up to an unusually frenzied weekend morning. Students could be seen roaming around in groups getting the logistics right before they finally errected a tombstone in the middle of the campus for what was going to be a mock funeral. Students, who had been agitating against the director CVR Murthy since January, sat in silence as they buried “peace of mind” in their attempt to send him another scathing message.
The demand letter that students sent with over 200 signatures
"It is the peace of our mind, which has been snatched away from us and to mark this, we have organised a mock funeral of peace and mind," a student told PTI.
Code of Conduct
The agitation in the institute against the director has been going on for months now but only gained momentum in January when a new "code of conduct" issued. The code put many restrictions on the students, such as barring them from speaking to the media about the institute. This led to an instant backlash from the students, who said the directives were "dictatorial" and even "unconstitutional".
The code also bars them from writing anything controversial about the institute on any forum, associating directly or indirectly with a political outfit and even prohibits them from writing anything of political nature for any publication.
“This code of conduct is one of the worst things that could happen in an IIT where students are expected to rise and shine,” said Deepshi Garg, a student of engineering at the institute. “We have been barred from speaking about the institute completely and this is a big question on freedom of speech and even constitutional applicability of this unlawful order.”
Another student explained that even the teachers are united in the protest against the director. “He has done more harm than imaginable to the institution that once stood for quality,” the student said, adding that several staff had been sacked in recent months. “The code of conduct is the final nail in the coffin for him.”
Disappearing faculty
Students alleged that nine faculty members have been terminated in the past year, and eight others have resigned. “His attitude resembles that of a dictator,” said one student. “The teachers were terminated for vague reasons, citing internal committee reports which have never been made public. Even after filing a Right To Information application, we couldn’t access those reports.”
A group of protesters said in an email message that the faculty shortage is one of the problems that the agitation aims to highlight. As against the requirement of more than 90, there are only 43 teachers present at the moment, the students said. Blaming the director, their email message said, “Due to his dictatorial mindset, which is intolerant of any criticism, faculty attrition has increased like never before. Most of them [faculty members] complained about internal politics, lack of freedom to work, and harassment by the director as the reasons for leaving.”
Lab lockdown
Students have also spoken against the shuttering of research and entrepreneurship facilities at the institute. “For reasons we still cannot understand, he’s shut down every single research and entrepreneurship facility,” wrote Samrat Oberoi, a student from the institute in a blog post. “He shut down the NI [National Instruments] Lab and the SoC [System-of-Chip] Labs, and also closed the IIC [Innovation and Incubation Centre], inaugurated by the President of India. This means tremendous amounts of national funds and manpower are wasted,” the post further said.
The lack of teachers and facilities has left research and doctoral students in the lurch. “It’s now or never for this IIT,” said a student pursuing research. “He has always divided students and ruled but now every one is finally united against him.”
Following termination of another professor Ganesh Bagler on 29 March 2015, protests took a serious turn as the students approached the Ministry of Human Resources and Development to terminate the director along with a petition signed by 770 students.
The director did not respond to an email requesting a response, but he has previously dismissed these allegations. "After completing a year's probation, a committee reviews standards of faculty members and takes a call on retention or termination," Murthy was quoted in the Times of India as saying.
