2014 Jadavpur University protests

Hokkolorob Movement
Hok kolorob Andolon
Students rally against the vice chancellor at Jadavpur University campus, Kolkata, circa 8 January 2015
Date3 September 2014 – 12 January 2015
Location
Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Guwahati ,[1] India
Caused by
  • Laxity in the investigation of an alleged case of molestation on campus
  • Police brutality on unarmed students taking part in a non-violent sit in demonstration
Goals
  • An unbiased, transparent, fast investigation of the allegation with appropriate legal committee according to vishakha guidelines.
Methods
StatusPast
Parties

Protestors


Casualties
Injuries40
Arrested37

On 16 September 2014, peaceful demonstrations by students took place in front of the administrative building of the University, demanding an investigation into the alleged molestation of a female student in campus. After several unsuccessful attempts at dialogue with the authorities, the students gheraoed some personnel of the university authority, including Vice-Chancellor Abhijit Chakrabarti. The vice-chancellor called the police, who dispersed the students by force in the early hours of 17 September. This triggered a wave of protests by students and teachers.

Criticisms of the force included that police used baton charge on a peaceful demonstration, that female students were manhandled and molested by male police officers, and that several men who were not in uniform attacked the students. The police maintained that there were plainclothesmen among their ranks while the students insist that these were Trinamool Congress (the ruling party of the state of West Bengal) cadres. The official position of the Calcutta Police is that "minimum lawful force" was applied to escort the vice-chancellor and other members of the committee out of the university.[2][3]

Demonstrations showing solidarity with the students started in Kolkata and across India, including in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru.[4][5][6][7] There was progressively increasing turnout in protest marches in Kolkata;[8] it culminated in a rally on 20 September, at the end of which a delegation of students met Governor of West Bengal, Keshari Nath Tripathi.[9] Estimates of participants in the rally fluctuate between thirty thousand and a hundred thousand people.[10][11]

The protests had a strong cultural flavour: students sang, danced, and arranged diverse cultural manifestations throughout the days during the demonstration. The protests have a large oeuvre of posters, graffiti, poems, songs, slogans, street plays, and performances dotting the university campus and the streets of Kolkata.[10][11] It led the Trinamool Congress to link this protest to the student movements of the 1970s.[12] It is one of the first movements in India to significantly employ social media and internet activism for coordination and dissemination.[13]

  1. ^ "Rally in solidarity with the protesting students of Jadavpur University, Kolkata at IIT Madras". Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  2. ^ "Kolkata Traffic Police". Facebook. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Online brickbats for cops after late-night post". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  4. ^ "Protest in Delhi against police lathicharge on Jadavpur University students". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  5. ^ "Students of IIT Mumbai march for counterparts at Jadavpur University". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  6. ^ "Jadavpur University fiasco: Professor steps down, refuses to show reason". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  7. ^ "Kolkata students find voice in B'lore". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  8. ^ "Kolkata: 6000-strong message to CM; Rally reflects anti-govt mood". The Telegraph, Calcutta. Archived from the original on 22 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  9. ^ "Kolkata: Protest March by Students, Governor Intervenes". NDTV. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  10. ^ a b "30,000 march in rain to seek Jadavpur VC's scalp". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  11. ^ a b "JU-bagh at heart of city". The Telegraph, Calcutta. 21 September 2014. Archived from the original on 22 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  12. ^ "Governor seeks report on Jadavpur University fiasco, police lay blame at VC door". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  13. ^ "#Hokkolorob movement takes social media by storm; 1 lakh Jadavpur University students march against the VC to protest against sexual assault". IBN Live. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.