Author: Vikram Gopal

‘Gone Case’: A Comic Book on the Dark Side of the Internet

Shiv Pannikker’s comic book is based on a Mumbai policeman with a dark past and the stories he encounters while escorting an inmate back to an asylum.

A Mumbai-based cop with a dark past is tasked to escort an escaped inmate back to the asylum. Along the way, he suspects that the inmate might be a serial killer and the asylum may be haunted.

This forms the core of Shiv Pannikker’s comic book Gone Case, which released on June 18, and is said to be Mumbai’s first horror comic book. It is written and created by Pannikker – an alumnus of the New York Film Academy and a well-known producer, director and screenwriter in Bollywood. The book has been co-created and illustrated by Karan Danda, who also happens to be the author’s childhood best friend, and it has been edited and co-created by Myron D’Silva.

The comic book is part of a trilogy and the second part will be releasing towards the end of this year.

Shiv Panikker holding a copy of his book. Image provided by the author.

“The whole concept of Gone Case is about a local corrupt little Malvani Police Department which does not know how to deal with the hackers due to the lack of information about the dark web and they make use of basic social media in order to find out about the dark web,” said Panikker.

A personal incident, Panniker says, prompted him to incorporate the dark web in his book in order to spread awareness about the fraudulent activities that take place in the deep corners of the internet.

“When I went to Bangkok in 2019, I was a victim of debit card theft where a lot of my info was stolen online. Even though I got my money back, I got to know through the authorities that it happened on the dark web. I was surprised to learn that 98% of the information sold online was Indian. I knew I had to talk about this and bring awareness in my own way which is why I decided to write this book,” he said.

With intricate designs and illustrations; a captivating and engaging Indian storyline; along with Bollywood references and mentions – the book became among the hottest new releases on Amazon within just three days of launching.

 

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Gone Case: The Official Trailer. Presenting Mumbai’s first horror comic book.. Gone Case! Gone Case became Amazon’s #1 Hottest New Release in just 3 days of launching! The Times Of India, Gurgaon describes it as: “Gone Case can be seen as India’s answer to Marvel & DC” So what is Gone Case? Why the term “Gone Case”? Hit ‘shop now’ to order your copy & find out! Or tap the link in my bio or in my stories to get your copy through our website! Gone Case is available in paperback & kindle format! Synopsis: ☠️ The “Good”, The “Bad”, The “Untrustworthy” & The “Wild Card”. Introducing the four main leads of Gone Case ☠️ Three local cops & one cyber crime specialist find their paths entangled as they get sucked into the mystery of “Gone Case”. Check out @shivpanikker or @gonecaseofficial for daily updates! #Mumbaisfirsthorrorcomic #gonecase #comicbooks #graphicnovel #comics #indiancomics #originalcharacter #behindthesceneswithv #indiancomics

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According to Pannikker, there is interest in making a film based on the comic book. “We are in talks with people who are willing to produce a movie based on Gone Case,” Panikker said.

Featured image credit: Instagram/@shivpannikker

How Project Pahunch is Taking Steps to Help Provide Access to Online Education

The aim of the initiative is to crowdsource old gadgets that are in a working condition so that students can access their basic right to education.

As debates around the accessibility to technology for students reach a fever pitch, a sister-brother duo has kickstarted a social initiative – Project Pahunch – to provide access to online education to children who are currently unable to attend online classes. The project is currently only operational in Mumbai.

The onset of the pandemic brought along a lot of challenges. For students, access to gadgets and internet connectivity has been on of the foremost issues and thousands have been dealing with the fallout of classes shifting online. Payal, a domestic helper working at Malaika and Ishan Shivalkar’s home, faced a similar challenge.

For the first few months of the pandemic, Payal was using her neighbour’s phone to attend classes to prepare for the upcoming board examinations. However, as and when the country started to open up, her neighbour started going to the office. This left her with no other choice but to either miss out on her online classes or spend thousands of rupees in order to get her old phone repaired – which was not an option due to a lack of resources.

The incident came as a wake-up call for Malaika and Ishan, and they decided to launch Project Pahunch on August 6. The aim of the initiative is to crowdsource old gadgets that are in a working condition so that students can access their basic right to education.

 

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Your old gadget can help a child attend their online classes. Please fill the Google form linked in the bio to donate!

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A third-year law student at National Law University, Jodhpur and a Class 11 student respectively, Malaika and Ishan started by getting in touch with as many NGOs and experts as possible in order to get a deeper insight into the problem.

“We have spoken with a few such NGOs in detail about taking this project forward – Teach For India, Mumbai and Angel Xpress Foundation, Colaba,” Malaika said.

“It has been less than a week since the launch of the initiative, and one person has actually purchased 20 new educational tablets and donated them to Angel Xpress Foundation in order to fulfil the needs of the children that have already been identified by them,” added Malaika.

The vision

Aside from speaking with the two NGOs, who have so far identified a total of a 120 students in Mumbai who do not have access to proper gadgets, Malaika said that they have also been approached by several other NGOs as well as individuals who wish to contribute to the cause.

“We wish to be able to collect as many gadgets as possible and distribute them to as many children as they can to make sure that no child goes by without access to education,” she said. “No one can predict how long this [pandemic] will go on for, and we feel that no child should be left behind.”

Featured imaged credit: Reuters

This 23-Year-Old Content Creator Got Gangrape Threats Over a Video on Rape Culture

On July 13, Dhruv Shah had posted a video of a spoken-word poem titled ‘Rape Culture vs Nationalism’ in response to the online harassment and intimidation of comedian Agrima Joshua.

Trigger warning: This article contains details about sexual harassment.

Four days ago, Dhruv Shah, a 23-year-old content creator and actor, got added to an Instagram group with 13 men who threatened to gangrape him and make a porn film out of it and asked him to delete a video which he had posted on July 13, 2020 on the rape threats being sent to Mumbai-based standup comedian Agrima Joshua.

In the video, Shah recites a poem which underlines why one shouldn’t hurl rape threats at anyone in the garb of nationalism. The video doesn’t make any reference to any person, religion or a community.

 

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Bullying and intimidation are the mother tongue of the oppressor and it’s time for a new language. Freedom of speech is THE MOST BASIC human right we deserve and it is petty to fight the fights we are fighting. How are we ever going to progress if our most basic rights are constantly denied and suppressed by criminals who roam the streets freely after making rape and death threats backed by mafias that run the city. IT’S 2020 AND I WANT TO FEEL FREE IN MY OWN HOME. Enough bullying. Enough intimidation. #SpeakUp #DontStop . . . . . . . . . #BoycottBullying #Rape #Nationalism #RapeCulture #Bullies #Intimidation #Criminals #India #Protection #Artists #Creators #HumanRights #Poetry #Comedy #SpokenWordPoetry #Poem #SpokenWord #SpokenWordPoem #Hate #HateSpeech #RapeThreats #Independence #Azadi #CounterCulture #FreedomOfSpeech #FreedomOfExpression #Freedom

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Shah is a two-time TEDx speaker and a spoken-word poet and has been creating content online for a while. However, this is the first time he has experienced something of this sort.

“I have never got this sort of attack. When I got added to that group, my body started shaking. I couldn’t control my urine after reading those vulgar messages,” he said. “Some men also said ‘Jai Shri Ram‘.”

Screenshot from the group Shah was added to, called ‘Pelai’, meaning ‘beating’.

The people who bullied him, he said, possibly did not quite grasp the message he tried to convey in his video. He also said that some of the group members didn’t even know why they had been added.

“They think that if I am speaking against rape culture, I am speaking in favour of comedians making fun of religion. Or if I am anti-rape, I am anti-religious – which is completely false,” he said.

After exiting the group and restricting access to his profile, he made a post tagging the people who sent him the rape threats, as well as the handle of Mumbai police. In the comments section, several more people have tagged the Mumbai police, asking it to take action.

Soon after that, Shah started getting threats from an Instagram page and a couple of individuals, who asked him to delete the latest post and take the July 13 video down.

 

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Shiver but speak. @mumbaipolice (Edit: All names do not represent perpetrators, some present on the group were inactive.)

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In a bid to try and get a response from Shah, one Instagram user even posted a story saying that Shah would be responsible for his suicide.

“When I replied to his story, he started making fun of me,” he said.

The whole episode, he said, has made him realise just how difficult the environment must be for women in the country, who are frequently at the receiving end of such threats – both online and offline.

“If someone like me, who is privileged, is feeling threatened like this, I can’t even imagine what women in this country must be experiencing,” he said.

Although the threats have now petered down and most of the group members have deleted their accounts, the culture of intimidation, he said, won’t stop unless necessary action is taken. As of now, neither the Mumbai police nor any authority has reached out to him.

While he might take some time to get back to his previous routine, the rape threats, he says, are going to affect the whole process of how he writes and produces his content. “I had three pieces in the pipeline, but I am now afraid to produce and film those. They talk about how India doesn’t belong to only those who speak Hindi and is a land of many languages,” he said. “As an artist, I don’t know what to put out anymore.”

MUHS: University Defers Most UG Exams, Students Want Them Cancelled

Students want the university to cancel all the exams considering the health risks involved in appearing for them, even at a later stage.

Nashik: The Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) has deferred most of its exams for undergraduate courses (UG) till further notice. “Summer-2020 undergraduate examinations of Medical, Dentistry, Ayurved, Unani, Homeopathy, Nursing and other faculties have been postponed,” controller of examinations Dr Ajit Pathak said in a statement.

State medical education minister Amit Deshmukh told the Hindustan Times that the exams should not be held putting at risk the lives of students. He also directed MUHS to start the academic year of the first three years.

Students, however, want the university to cancel all the exams considering the health risks involved in appearing in exams – even if they are held at a later stage.

According to an MBBS student, the university had issued a circular a couple of weeks back asking students to write their final exams either in their own college or any other college (affiliated to the state medical university) close to their house. The notice, however, was not received well among the student fraternity.

Medical student welfare association president Dr Nilesh Jadhav told the Indian Express, “We have been asking for cancellation of exams since May. In case exams are held, how will students travel? Even if they are allowed to appear from a nearby centre, the centres are in districts, far from villages and talukas.”

Similarly, a first-year MBBS student, on the condition of anonymity, spoke about the dangers of writing exams in a state like Maharashtra and says that the decision to postpone the exam hasn’t alleviated their fears.

“Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country and all the medical colleges of the state university are located next to hospitals, which naturally are high-risk zones. How can the university think about conducting exams in such a situation?” he said.

In addition, online classes that were being conducted over the past couple of months, have not been up to mark as practical knowledge is more essential in medical courses than theory, students say.

“We are supposed to be tested on the basis of lab sessions which have not been conducted since the lockdown was announced. The exams, therefore, will only be based on theory which essentially doesn’t even cover half of what is required,” the student added.

A lot of students also spoke about leaving their study materials in their hostels in March when they were asked to go back home. The hostel rooms are now turned into quarantine centres and therefore no students are allowed inside.

The offline exam, therefore, is not going to serve any purpose besides putting the lives and health of students at risk, students say.

‘COVID suraksha kawach‘

According to the Indian Express, the MUHS recently announced a “COVID suraksha kavach“ for all the students appearing in the exams. If a student contracts COVID-19, the college will provide Rs 1 lakh for the treatment and Rs 3 lakh in case a student succumbs to the virus.

As soon as the message was circulated, both students and parents opposed the decision.

Maharashtra students union president Siddharth Ingle told the Indian Express, “Who will take responsibility if any student succumbs to COVID-19? We cannot compare anyone’s lives with money.”

In the same vein, some medical colleges in MUHS had reportedly started collecting undertaking from students saying that the college won’t be responsible if students get infected of the virus while writing their exams, which then were scheduled to take place in August.

The issue of whether final year exams should be conducted in the middle of a pandemic is a subjudice matter for now and the Bombay high court is yet to announce the future course of action.

Featured image credit: Akshay Chauhan/Unsplash

‘Demanding Full Fee is Arbitrary’: Nirma University Students Write to Gujarat HC

Students have urged the high court to stay the university notification demanding full fee, ask the university to waive off a part of the fee being charged and to refund those who have already made the full payment.

On July 23, students at Nirma University, Ahmedabad, wrote a letter petition to the Gujarat high court urging it take note of the university’s decision to demand full fees by August 5.

The decision, students say, doesn’t take into account the “disproportionate impact” the lockdown has had on them over the past few months in the wake of the coronavirus.

The petition cites the Modern Dental Clinic v. the State of Maharashtra case wherein a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court clearly stated that a college cannot charge a fee that goes anywhere beyond the purpose of fulfilling the object of education. In the present case, however, the university is doing exactly the same.

“Owing to the put in maintaining the existing resources and procuring new resources, the cost per student would go up as compared to last year. Therefore, it is not practically possible to reduce the fee,” reads the university, in another notification issued on July 22.

The fee, students say, is only going to benefit the university, not the students, because the college was functional for one and a half months the last semester and therefore, most of the resources – which the fee cover – were left unused by the students and the faculty over the past couple of months. Plus, the university has kept the students in the dark with regard to the bifurcation of the fee being demanded.

On top of that, the university has not provided any explanation towards “the refund or adjustment” of the balance amount which was already paid in the previous semesters, says the petition.

And, now the university is demanding students to pay an extra amount saying that the online teaching will incur more cost and that they will not entertain any “further communication” in this regard.

However, online teaching, as mentioned in the letter petition, is not accessible to all the students due to the socio-economic divide in the country, thereby violating Article 14 of the Indian constitution which guarantees right to equality to all the citizens.

Furthermore, the director general of an educational institution has to consult the board of governors before deciding the fee, according to the rule 34A of academic regulations. However, students say that the last official meeting of the board was conducted on September 28, 2019. “This proves that the university is unwilling to change its fee structure even in these uncertain times,” says the petition letter.

Hence, students have urged the high court to stay the university notification demanding full fee, ask the university to waive off a part of the fee being charged and to refund those who have already made the full payment.

Letter petition by The Wire on Scribd

Featured image credit: Nirma University official website

Final-Year Students From 31 DU Colleges Demand Cancellation of Sixth Semester Exam

Students have demanded that the UGC cancel the exam and instead use scores of the previous semesters for the final assessment.

On July 14, final year student from 31 colleges of University of Delhi issued a compiled statement opposing the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) decision to conduct sixth-semester exam in the middle of a pandemic. The statement highlights the exclusionary format of the proposed online open book exam (OBE).

According to the statement, the mock tests conducted recently are testament to the fact that not all students have access to the requisite online resources. “Out of a total of 2 lakh final year students, only 1.1 lakh students were able to register & out of these only 26% were able to upload their answers, which is only 13% of the total students that were supposed to give the exam,” it reads.

In addition, the students talk about facing difficulties while uploading their documents online and even getting questions out of their course during the mock tests.

UGC, on the other hand, appears to be standing firm on its decision and the ministry of human resource department too has stayed silent on the issue despite the apparent failure of the mock tests and the countrywide students protests, reads the statement. According to the students, the university should use previous semester’s scores to release the final assessment, instead of conducting any exam – either offline or online.

Also read: The Price of Exclusion: A Student With Disability on Delhi University’s Open Book Exam

“We would like to emphasise on the fact that when Universities across the country have been following a modular programme of semesterisation (as mandated by the UGC itself) with all semesters having roughly equal weighting and with absolutely no extra weighting accorded to the final semester, the idea of going through just one more semester (when we have already been through five others) is a ridiculously farcical idea,” reads the statement.

The repeated emphasis on online exam, statement says, is also a means to promote a neo-liberal education model and pave way for privatisation of higher education – which will further sideline students who don’t come from privileged social backgrounds.

“Despite outsourcing the web portal services to Amazon Web Services (another stepping stone in the direction of systematic privatisation of higher education), the institution was not able to make its portal accessible to students possessing internet connection anything below the spectrum of a high speed 4G connection,” says the statement.

Therefore, students have demanded that the UGC cancels online exam for sixth semester students.

“We, the students of our respective departments and colleges of the University of Delhi, stand against DU’s Online Open Book Exams,” reads the statement.

Compiled Draft-students’ solidarity statement, DU by The Wire on Scribd

Featured image credit: Flickr

Despite MHA Orders, Allahabad University Opens Amid Pandemic

The university has been open since June 22, despite the MHA’s order issued on June 29 which said that no school or college shall be permitted to re-open till July 31.

The University of Allahabad has been open since June 22 despite strict orders from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) against the same. The order, which was issued on June 29, said that the areas outside the containment zones, all activities shall be permitted except “schools, colleges, educational and coaching institutions will remain closed till July 31.”

The 11 colleges that fall under the university, which are located in different areas of the city, continue to run even as the number of COVID-19 cases rise. According to students, some colleges aren’t spacious enough to maintain physical distance and other safety norms. In addition, since professors and staff have started coming, a lot of research scholars could be seen loitering around the campus and meeting their friends, students say, further adding to the risk.

“Opening the university, if classes are not permitted and examinations are also barred, makes no sense. This will only hurt government efforts to curb the spread of the virus,” said a student.

Also read: ‘Irrational Demand’: Amity University Students Ask For Fee Concession

Moreover, on June 17, the university’s librarian and a professor tested positive for COVID-19, the Times of India reported. According to a local newspaper, samples of the vice chancellor, registrar, department heads among other 25 staff members were collected as soon as the reports came in. However, a lot of professors, the paper says, kept working for some time even though they were supposed to be quarantined at home after getting tested.

Neither the state, nor the Central government has issued any order with regard to opening educational institutions as of now. The MHA order, however, has stated that they will issue separate orders if and when they plan to open educational space in the coming weeks.

“Dates for re-starting the above activities may be decided separately and necessary SOPs shall be issued for ensuring social distancing and to contain the spread of COVID-19,” the order said.

The government, in fact, has been cancelling or deferring national-level exams across the country besides stressing on continuing classes and other educational activities online. Recently, the Central Board of Secondary Education cancelled the remaining exams of classes 10 and 12, keeping in view the risks involved in conducting offline exam at the moment. The exams were scheduled to be held on July 1.

The ICSE board also followed suit. On July 1, the Odisha government also cancelled the remaining exams of class 12 conducted by the Council of Higher Secondary Education, the New Indian Express reported.

At a time when most educational activities are being put on hold or cancelled, University of Allahabad’s decision to remain open has come as a shock to the students.

Featured image credit: PTI

Climate Change: On Sustaining Youth-led Movements During a Pandemic

Manthan Shah, a 20-year-old social activist. shares his experience of being part of three international movements.

As the world battles the pandemic and find ways to adjust to the new normal, the climate change movement has temporarily taken a backseat.

However, a lot of young activists are contemplating new methods. While some have taken to organising and participating in webinars and other online events to mobilise support, others who don’t have access to internet are planting trees in their localities.

One such changemaker is 20-year-old Manthan Shah, who has been an active part of three international movements, including one led by Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg in Madrid, Spain.

“Over the last 16 months, I have been fortunate to be a part some of the most exciting global movements such as ‘Everyone a Changemaker’ movement by Ashoka in Singapore, ‘Combat against climate change’ by Greta Thunberg, in Madrid, and ‘I Can: Design for Change’ movement by Kiran Bir Sethi, at the Vatican and in Rome,” he says.

As a participant, Manthan says his belief in the power of youth was reaffirmed. He also learnt how a movement is created and sustained over a long a period of time. The ongoing pandemic, he adds, has made it even more pertinent to hold power accountable and to raise our collective voices wherever necessary.

Asias top 3000 philanthropists and Impact in Singapore in June 2019.

“Today, with coronavirus disrupting lives globally, we should not forget the climate change reality. Furthermore, the migrant worker crisis must draw our attention to the harsh inequality and systemic gaps in our country. It is more important than ever before to create sustainable movements and demand change,” he said.

The global movements

As part of Thunberg’s climate change movement, Manthan learnt how age isn’t a barrier to becoming a changemaker.

In a recent interview with the BBC, Thunberg said how the pandemic has shown us how to act on crises with utmost urgency, which wasn’t there a couple of months back, when teenagers and young adults from all across the world were coming out on the streets, demanding quick action against climate change. “It[pandemic] shows that in a crisis, you act, and you act with necessary force,” she said.

December 6, 2020, Madrid, Spain.

Adding to that, Manthan says that Thunberg has a clear mission and consistently works towards it.

Also read: In Photos: Meet Iih, a Young Activist on an Indefinite Hunger Strike in Nepal

The community support and networking, Manthan says, is something which he learnt while working as a fellow with Ashoka, a non-governmental organisation that supports ‘world’s leading social entrepreneurs and changemakers’.

As for the ‘Design for Change’ movement, he says, it taught him about incorporating innovation and “design thinking” in his endeavours. “Essentially, consistency and perseverance plays a key role in creating, expanding and sustaining a movement.”

Individual projects

Before joining the international movements, Manthan had already started two small initiatives at the age of 17.

While one was about connecting aspiring volunteers from across Pune with NGOs with the help of WhatsApp groups, the other one aimed at teaching sports to young kids in rural India and helping them get in touch with sponsors.

The initiatives and the movements that he was part of inspired him to work more towards building a more equitable society at his own level. Two moths ago, Manthan started posting a weekly podcast called @planetimpactpod where he interviews young social entrepreneurs, ‘Forbes 30 under 30’, Ashoka fellows and even Nobel Laureates. The guests, in his podcasts, share insights from their projects.

All the projects that he could be a part of, and those that he initiated himself, Manthan says, taught him that young people can “accomplish absolutely anything”.

Featured image credit: Perry Grone/Unsplash

All images provided by the author

‘Irrational Demand’: Amity University Students Ask For Fee Concession

The other demands include a 50% reduction of the fee as many are not in a position to pay, and an extension in last date of fee submission to at least the last week of August.

On June 16, the students of Amity University Mumbai wrote a joint letter to the vice chancellor requesting a concession in the semester fee – which includes a 5% hike among other demands. The university has asked students to pay the fee – which ranges from Rs 50, 000 to more than Rs 2 lakh for some courses – by July 20.

“While the world is battling a global pandemic that has created massive havoc, the students of Amity University Mumbai are being subjected to an irrational demand for massive fees,” reads the letter.

Since most families, students say, aren’t in a condition to pay the fee at the moment, student representatives from 17 departments decided to conduct an extensive online survey to assess the financial situation of the students. The survey got a total of 1,089 response, which included some “shocking insights” with regard to the impact of pandemic on families and guardians across the country.

According to the survey, students come from diverse financial backgrounds and most of them have had a difficult time managing expenses ever since the lockdown was announced. Parents working in private companies have received a salary cut of around 50-60 %, and some have also been laid off. Those working in government sectors have had to donate some amount to the PM-CARES fund in addition to pay cuts. Medical expenses, the survey states, have also gone up for many in the past one month – especially those who contracted COVID-19.

Hostel and transport fee

Moreover, students who avail hostel and transport facility have been asked to pay for the same, even though they have not used the provision for the months of April and May.

Here’s what the students have demanded in the survey:

Given the fact there are several resident students who stay in campus hostels, 94.5% of these students demanded a 20% concession in hostel fees. Furthermore, 87.3% of the students who depend on the bus transport facility provided by AUM claimed that they had not used the provision for the months of April and May.

Additionally, 87. 7% of the students strongly believe that demanding for a refund in hostel and transport fees for the months of April and May is reasonable.

The other demands include a 50% reduction of the fee and an extension in last date of fee submission to at least the last week of August.

Also read: NMIMS University Ask Students to Pay Rs 2,74,000 All at Once

Apart from emailing the letter and the survey to the vice chancellor and the registrar of the university, students also reached out to the University Grants Commission, All Indian Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the chief minister of Maharashtra and the ministry of human resource and development. However, none of them have responded as yet.

Fee demand in other universities

Amity University Mumbai isn’t the only college asking for massive fee around this time.

Students at Lucknow University also sent a letter to their administration requesting them let them pay the examination fee, in instalments, after conducting an online video-conference where over 100 students spoke about their poor financial condition in the wake of the pandemic.

Similarly, the Anil Surendra Modi School of Commerce (ASMSOC) – which is part of the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management (NMIMS) – also asked students to pay Rs 2,74,000 as college fee in one instalment.

Early in May, Panjab University had also proposed to hike its fee by 7.5% but they had to defer it after students made a representation to the administration opposing the decision.

Meanwhile, students and parents at Amity University, Mumbai have been writing emails to the authority seeking concession.

Featured image credit: Facebook/Amity University Mumbai

Lucknow University: Students Demand Exam Cancellation, Fee Waiver

Despite three professors reportedly testing positive for COVID-19, the university has decided to conduct offline exams at the college, while also demanding that students pay the semester fee.

Three professors at Lucknow University (LU) have tested positive for COVID-19, but the administration stands firm on its decision to conduct offline examinations at the college premises. The university has also asked students to submit the semester fee at a time the country is going through an unprecedented economic crisis because of the worldwide pandemic.

Over the past two weeks, several students have been petitioning the university to withdraw these directives, citing “poor sanitation facilities” in the college and “health risks” involved for the students who will have to avail public transport to appear for the exam.

With regard to the fee, students say that many among them aren’t in a position to make the payment for even the previous semester.

The administration, on the other hand, has claimed that they will ensure the safety of students while conducting the exam. “We will conduct exams while following the safety protocol and after assessing the situation at that time. We will follow all directions of the government,” LU spokesperson Durgesh Srivastava told the Times of India.

But students allege that the notices and press releases issued by the administration have certain discrepancies and that the administration has been misguiding the media. Besides, they did not consult with students before arriving at these decisions.

Also read: ‘Unjust and Unfair’: DU Students Reject Online Semester Exams

As a result, the National Students Association (a student collective) conducted an online video-conferencing session with over 100 students of LU and prepared a charter of demands for the administration’s perusal:

  • Since a lot of students won’t be able to make the payment all at once, they have demanded the university to allow them to pay only examination fee in instalments – from the next session onwards.
  • The final year students want teachers to come up with a “proportional marking scheme” which evaluates a student on the basis of his, her or their internal scores (assignments, projects, class tests etc.). Some students have also alleged disparities in the previous semester’s evaluation process and have appealed the university to first fix the same.
  • The first and second year student have asked the university to promote them unconditionally.
  • Finally, students want the university to consult with them and their parents before taking any decision.

Other colleges

Students in other colleges have also come forward to protest against their university for announcing offline exams in the middle of a pandemic.

A week ago, medical students from over 15 dental colleges in Punjab made appeals to postpone offline exams, which the administration has scheduled for July 7, the Hindustan Times reported.

“We demand postponement of exams of all years because students and their parents were not consulted before releasing date sheet. Our books were left in hostels and we didn’t get much time for preparation. The government can’t use us as their test kits,” tweeted a student.

Similarly, college students in Maharashtra have been left in the lurch as the state government hasn’t released any official notification as yet. Two weeks ago, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackrey had announced the cancellation of final-year exam across all streams, but there has been no official notice to that effect.

Hence, a lot of private and autonomous universities have started preparing for offline as well as online exams in their respective institutions. According to the Indian Express, last week, four private education societies in Pune – Deccan Education Society, Maharashtra Education Society, Maharshi Karve Women’s Education Society and Shikshan Prasarak Mandal – announced their support for examination of final-year students.

In the same vein, Savitri Bai Phule Pune University has also started making similar arrangements, sowing confusion among the students. However, the final decision, they say, rests with the state government.

Featured image credit: PTI