Surrounded by layers of security during his guided tour across the Indian Institute of Science, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may perhaps miss the ‘sea of black’ gathering on the premises on Wednesday.
Dissatisfied with the Centre for not fulfilling their demand for a hike in scholarship and fellowship stipends, more than 1,000 research scholars at the premier science institute are expected to gather in protest following the Prime Minister’s visit.
“Unfortunately, students will not even get a glimpse of Mr. Modi. We can only express our displeasure from afar, or raise our voice when he leaves,” said Pankaj Jain, secretary of IISc. Student Council.
The gathering is part of a pan-India effort by research scholars to pressure the government to hike their scholarship fees (which was last increased in 2010). On Tuesday, Twitter handles of Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani, Prime Minister’s office, and Mr. Modi were bombarded with thousands of tweets by researchers seeking a fellowship hike. Apart from a nearly 55 per cent increase in the stipend, the researchers have also demanded that arrears be paid from April 1, 2014; streamlining of a system to increment the fellowship or linking the stipend to an inflation index, and uniformity in implementing the hike.
According to the Hike Research Fellowship Facebook page — which has become a gathering point for researchers to chalk out support and strategies — the strike on February 18 will see thousands of scholars gathering at prominent institutes, including the IITs.
This is to protest against Centre’s failure to fulfil their demand for a scholarship hike
