Protest against St. Stephen’s principal a damp squib

Valson Thampu initiates an enquiry against anyone who dares to speak up, says DUTA president

April 18, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:33 am IST - NEW DELHI:

NSUI activists protesting against the principal of St. Stephen's College in New Delhi on Friday.— Photo: Sandeep Saxena

NSUI activists protesting against the principal of St. Stephen's College in New Delhi on Friday.— Photo: Sandeep Saxena

A protest against St. Stephen’s College principal Valson Thampu at the Delhi University campus on Friday turned out to be a damp squib as most students avoided the protest fearing action by the principal.

The students had planned a “massive protest” against Mr. Thampu for suspending Devansh Mehta. However, only 20-25 students turned up for the protest.

Devansh had founded an e-zine, which was banned after it carried Mr. Thampu’s interview. He was suspended after he spoke about it to the media.

Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) president Nandita Narain, who was part of the protest, said: “Everyone who speaks against the principal in St. Stephen’s College is punished. The principal initiates an enquiry against anyone who dares to speak up. The college has been turned into some kind of concentration camp and has been in the news for all the wrong reasons.”

Devansh’s flatmate and St. Stephen’s student Sohan Biswas said: “This protest is our way of making a statement that what the principal has done constitutes a serious breach of freedom of expression. The college is trying to take away our creativity, first by banning the college magazine that was run entirely by students and then suspending a student who started the magazine.”

He added: “I am sad the turnout is so low. Students are extremely scared of the principal, because he does not let any independent voice prosper.”

A group of nearly five to seven students who were part of the protest but wished to remain anonymous said: “We stand in solidarity with Devansh. But we are scared if we register a protest against the principal, he will suspend us or we may not be able to write our exams. We are all in the final year of our course.”

Former student and retired IAS officer Amitabha Pande said: “I am shocked and outraged to see the current state of my college. It was a great institution only because of the kind of freedom it gave its students and the values it inculcated in them. All that is gone now. This is possibly the end of St. Stephen’s.”

Meanwhile, the NSUI also registered a protest in the matter. Spokesperson Amrish Ranjan Pandey said: “We want the Vice-Chancellor and the Union Human Resource Development Ministry to intervene in the matter and take action against the principal.”

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