KL NEWS NETWORK

SRINAGAR

NIT Srinagar
NIT Srinagar

After Union government sent its two member team to National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar to know the ground facts on Wednesday after a controversy erupted post West Indies cricket match win, two groups of NIT students met the delegation.

The local students submitted a memorandum before the Union Ministry of Human Resource Delegation text of which is being produced here, verbatim.

Memorandum to The Visiting MHRD Delegation

We would like to express our thoughts on the demands made by the non-locals to the visiting team:

  1. Their first demand, that of permanent central security to be placed in the campus.

We are all aware of the volatile nature of the Kashmir region. Presence of central security or armed security forces of any type will only make the campus (and subsequently, its students) vulnerable to disturbance owing to political events outside college.

Further, NIT Srinagar has overcome a long history of struggle to get rid of security forces on campus in the first place.

Let’s make this very clear — They are demanding the presence of armed security upon the grounds of an educational institute. This is not acceptable here, or anywhere in the world. In the past, security forces used to reside in the hostel. This set a tone of hostility and fear amongst every student and parent.

We call upon any of the representatives of the non-local brethren to cite a single incident (including and especially through the turmoil of 2008 and 2010) where a non-local student was harmed.

  1. 50% Non-Local Staff

After just a few seconds of thought, it is very clear that the onus of selecting teaching faculty is on the MHRD. There is already a set procedure in place to ensure that there is fair selection of teaching faculty.

The MHRD has the power to review the recruitment and selection procedure. This is purely an administrative issue and needs to be dealt with upon the directions of MHRD.

  1. Academic Harassment

This demand comes as a surprise. The academic section has the award rolls of the current students and the years before. This demand is unfounded. Upon taking a look at those records, a fair number of the toppers are non-locals. This reinforces that in NIT Srinagar, the only requirement to succeed is merit and hard work. They have never been academically harassed before and will never be academically harassed in the future.

This allegation is disrespectful to our teachers and by that extension, MHRD who selects them.

NIT Students

  1. Formation by Basic Student Councils

The current situation is already sensitive. There is a growing divide between different groups within the college. The formation of councils, unions, and bringing politics into the scene will only exacerbate these divides.

  1. Religious Impositions

The local brethren celebrate and will continue to celebrate Holi, Diwali, and every occasion with them. In fact, we have a very memorable photograph of one of the local students celebrating Diwali, complete with fire-crackers.

There is no religious imposition on anybody within the campus. This demand itself comes as a shock.

In conclusion, NIT Srinagar has always been tightly-knit community. We have always been great hosts to the students who come here from outside. We do our best to make them feel at home, and can assure you without an iota of doubt, that we will continue to do so. Our hands are always extended.

NIT Students

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here