Students of MU held another protest today

Press Release

Students of MU held another protest today

8­ Jan. 2014, Mumbai University, Kalina. The students of Mumbai University took to streets agains the disputed suspension of Prof. Neeraj Hatekar today in the Kalina Campus. Around 300 students jammed the gates of the Mumbai University for about 4 hours. Students not only from the Economics department, to which Prof. Hatekar belongs, but even from other departments joined the protest in huge numbers. University Community for Democracy and Equality had led a massive postering and pamphleteering campaign to spread the word about this protest demonstration. A pamphlet against the allegedly arbitrary suspension of Prof. Hatekar was issued by the UCDE and was distributed among hundreds of students from the last evening.

Apart from the pamphlets, the students also covered the MU notice boards with the posters of this protest demonstration. From the morning around 8:30 AM, students began to gather at the gates of the Kalina Campus. By 10 AM the number of students reached to about 300. Apart from UCDE, various electoral political parties also extended support to this movement of students which is slowly gathering momentum.

Savita, a student of the Economics department told the media persons that the suspension of a teacher like Prof. Hatekar only shows that there is something terribly wrong with the MU authorities. If Prof. Hatekar was not right in asking questions the MU authorities should have invited him for open debate. But the manner in which he has been removed only shows that all is not well with the MU administration.
Prashant, the spokesperson and Convening Committee member of UCDE told the media that the suspension of Prof. Hatekar is not an issue of the Economics department only. It is an issue of the entire University democracy, an ideal that every sensitive University student cherishes. He said that the high-handedness of the MU administration is characteristic of a draconian rule inside the University, which is plagued with a number of academic and administrative irregularities. Prashant said that soon the UCDE will organize a Students' charter movement for these issues, which in fact, were raised by Prof. Hatekar too.

University Community for Democracy and Equality has called upon the students, teachers and karamcharis of the entire MU to join A SILENT PROTEST DEMONSTRATION ON JANUARY 12 ORGANIZED BY THE UCDE. This day is a Sunday and is going to witness the Convocation Program of the MU. Various eminent personalities have been invited to this program and the students are going to send mails and letters to these persons urging them not to be a part of this program when such unjust and arbitrary practices are being followed by the University administration itself. Prashant urged all the students and teachers of various colleges also to join the Silent Protest on January 12 in Kalina Campus to express solidarity with Prof. Hatekar as well as the protesting students.

Prashant

(spokesperson)

University Community for Democracy and Equality (UCDE)