Students allege rise in censorship, disruptive curriculum changes in film schools
Students at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata are protesting against the administration following a controversial event hosted by an RSS-linked organization on campus. The students allege that the event led to violence, campus censorship, and a decline in educational quality due to recent curriculum changes.
Why it matters
The incident highlights growing tensions regarding political influence in educational institutions and the preservation of creative freedom in film schools.
On September 27, the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP), a consumer awareness organisation with links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), held a State-level meeting in the main auditorium of Kolkata’s Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI).
(Sign up for THEdge, The Hindu’s weekly education newsletter.)
The students alleged that the auditorium was rented out to the organisation without prior notification to the student union for ₹15,000. They noted that there are ample alternative venues in Kolkata, aside from an educational space, which could have hosted an organisational meeting of this nature.
“Nothing of this sort has happened before at SRFTI. As students, we have a right to know what is going on on our campus, as well as the right to exercise our free will and peacefully protest against it,” Aindrila, a student at SRFTI, said.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in