http://scroll.in/article/805619/hyderabad-university-stir-students-complain-that-print-media-is-focusing-on-kanhaiya-kumar
Hyderabad University stir: Students complain that print media is focusing on Kanhaiya Kumar A look at how some national newspapers reported the agitation to demand justice for Rohith Vemula. Yesterday · 05:00 pm Mayank Jain The Hyderabad Central University is again witnessing a pitched confrontation between students seeking justice for Rohith Vemula and the administration that they blame for the Dalit scholar's suicide in January. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the students had no food, electricity or water on campus as the non-teaching staff struck work. Many students were assaulted by the police on campus, and at least 30 of them were arrested for allegedly vandalising the vice chancellor’s office. The students say the varsity’s administration has turned the campus into a “concentration camp”, but few people are coming out in their support. On social media, they pointed out the contrast between the heavy news coverage received by the Jawaharlal Nehru University after its students were charged with sedition and the scanty reportage about Hyderabad University. Baidurya Chakrabarti on Wednesday Today, I asked my colleagues whether they have heard about what is happening in Hyderabad or not. After all, the editorial room of my mildly socialist publishing office was buzzing when Kanhaiya was in jail. My colleagues asked whether I was talking about Kanhaiya's visit to HCU or not. This is almost after 24 hours since it started. On my friend list, I see ex and current Hyderabadi-s frantically broadcasting messages seeking help, infrequently shared by few politically oriented friends from Delhi or Kolkata. But the enthusiasm is lacking. It is not 'news'. It is not a news that leads to enthusiastic, if rabid, debates over abstractions like nationalism. This 'news' is about bare facts about bare lives: save us from torture, possibly police encounters, lack of food, water. Perhaps it is not news because it reveals the uncomfortable truth that even a war on the definition of nationalism presupposes a freedom not available to vast swathes of this country. It is difficult to make heroes out of bare lives. These bare lives have been demanding the stars for very long. They shall continue to die while we establish a cult of their dead bones in the name of our newfound sensitivity to plights of Rohith Vemula-s of this world. 2 118 “Rape threats are issued at female students and Muslim students are called terrorists,” wrote Vaikhari Aryat, a student of Hyderabad Central University. “Nobody bothers to report even. Around 36 people including 3 faculties are missing after police detained them. Do you care? Students are denied food, water, electricity, internet, movement and ATM facilities for more than 24 hrs. This university has turned into a concentration camp where they imprison its own students. Are you even listening?” Snipped -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
