SRFTI students allege harassment, moral policing by institute

After the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), another film institute is on the boil. Trouble is brewing at Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata, an institute under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, where students have alleged harassment, casteism, and mismanagement by the institute’s administration. Protests have been going on for over a week now.

The protesting students are now demanding better facilities for studies, accommodation and placements. In the past one week, 14 students were threatened with suspension for staging protests against the administration and walking out of their classes to ensure their demands are addressed. Trouble began after a few men allegedly stayed inside the women’s hostel and vice versa, last week. This led the administration to take action against the students and segregate hostels for men and women. Students called this moral policing with “authoritarian and dictatorial” methods.

“A huge number of SRFTI students are aggrieved by the events that have unfolded in the past few months in this institute. Even after our persistent requests for a dialogue through letters from the students’ representatives and several verbal requests from a multitude of students, no positive step has been taken. The authority has conveniently shied away …read more