UoH students protest against cops in campus

UoH students protest against cops in campus
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Students of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) are up in arms against the presence of police inside the campus. “There have been several instances where the police have intimidated, harassed and threatened the students when they see us walking around in the campus which evidently curbs the right to mobility within the campus space.

Students of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) are up in arms against the presence of police inside the campus. “There have been several instances where the police have intimidated, harassed and threatened the students when they see us walking around in the campus which evidently curbs the right to mobility within the campus space. The university has an internal security staff dedicated to the security of the campus which is sufficient.

We do not want State Police to come and patrol inside the university campus and raise insecurity and fear in students,” stated the student representatives of Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH). The students alleged that a protest was staged last Friday in this regard and that the university submitted a written statement that they “had no role in bringing/inviting the police inside the campus.”

Students protesting in the campus on Tuesday

“We were also promised that they will pursue the matter with the Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Cyberabad Commissionerate,” added a GSCASH member. Following this, another public meeting was staged on Tuesday inside the campus. On the occasion, Prof. K Laxminarayana, president of the University of Hyderabad Teachers’ Association, said, “The university is a space for debate and discussion and we have our internal mechanisms to deal with conflicts.

We do not need external police. It cannot be the case that the administration is unaware of the presence of police. In the light of the current privatisation of university and educational spaces, the State and university jointly anticipate and expect protests from the affected student communities which is why they are in the process of institutionalising police presence on the campus.” Prof. Biju BL from the department of political science added, “The way invisible laws are being cited to justify police presence is harmful for democracy and in this kind of state where we are all under surveillance, the added presence of police serves only to intimidate people and suppress dissent and democratic debate.”

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