How Congress versus BJP has sidelined main issues of FTII protest
The recent Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) strike has now suddenly turned into a high-pitched political fight. The recent protests and the morcha that the students have taken to Delhi today clearly shows that students have fallen into politics, something that they shouldn't. There have been no classes held for the past two months and students are sitting idle, only inviting people to support their cause. And who suffers the most? Ultimately, it is a big loss for students. They are there to learn. With such long absence from work, the academic schedule of the institute has suffered. What happens to the new students and the fresh batch? If the current batch does not graduate on time because of this long gap, how will new students come in? The general perception now is that the students are wasting government money, and therefore, public money. Courses in a government-funded college are actually funded through taxpayers’ money. Knowing this, students should not be wasting public money by protesting like this.
The issue is no longer about students not wanting a certain man as the chairperson. It has become a BJP versus Congress fight and the main issues are sidelined. Political parties and leaders have got involved, as we recently saw. Rahul Gandhi came to the institute and spoke to students. And outside, the BJP protested and marched against him. It’s become a political fight now.
There is this growing talk of privatisation. But what are the chances of privatisation of the institute? Why are the illustrious alumni of the FTII like Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Jaya Bachchan not supporting this fight? It means that somewhere the students are wrong. It’s time for them to think and introspect.
An issue which concerned a local institute has now emerged as a matter of national debate. I agree that the chairperson definitely needs to be a person who is aware of various forms of cinema, has good credentials and needs to know what kind of technically improved education should be imparted to students. The chairperson must also have a fair body of work behind him which would lead the students to look up to him, and he/she must understand the needs of the students. This is necessary to match up to the standard that an institute of national repute deserves. But striking and putting off classes endlessly is not the solution. The students have registered their protest; it is now time to get back to classes and get on with their studies.