Almora/Dehradun: A 23-year-old MSc student from Almora’s Soban Singh Jeena (SSJ) University set himself on fire on Monday as part of ongoing protests against the state govt’s decision to cancel student union elections in colleges and universities this year.
Deepak Lohani , a candidate for the president’s post in the student union at the university, sustained 15% burns, primarily on his hands, stomach, and chest, said doctors.
The incident occurred during a protest at Chaughanpata, where Rahul Dhami, the university’s current student union president poured petrol on himself. As police tried to de-escalate the situation, Lohani, also a member of the same students’s group, set himself on fire after dousing himself with petrol. Police quickly extinguished the flames and rushed Lohani to the district hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment.
The issue of students’ elections has been simmering for almost a month ever since the deadline given by the state govt to universities for conducting the elections passed. The govt had issued an academic calendar on April 23, directing that student union elections be conducted by Sept 30. However, some of the university administrations failed to organise the elections within the specified time. The matter reached the Uttarakhand high court (HC) where a PIL was filed requesting the HC to intervene in getting the student union elections to be held. However, the PIL was dismissed on Oct 24 after the HC accepted the state govt’s contention that it is too late into the academic session to hold the elections.
In Almora, student organisations had given the call for a protest rally in the Chaughanpata area where they intended to burn effigies of state education minister Dhan Singh Rawat. This came as Amit Bisht, an NSUI member, announced on Saturday that he would self-immolate if demands were not met by Monday. The protest quickly escalated, leading to Dhami and Lohani’s self-immolation attempts. They warned the govt “not to test their patience” and vowed to keep fighting saying they will “force the state to yield”.
Dhan Singh Rawat said, “We have sought response from the universities. A double bench of the HC had passed the order to not go against the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee, which says that student union elections should be held between six to eight weeks after a new academic session starts. Now the students may approach Supreme Court to challenge the HC’s order because universities cannot go against it or the Lyngdoh Committee.”
Meanwhile, students from other districts also converged in Dehradun on Monday and marched from Congress Bhawan in the state capital to the secretariat. Another group of students from colleges in Dehradun also held a “funeral march” for Rawat by taking out a procession from DAV college to the secretariat.
Students said that the last polls were also held after a two-month delay, making the decision to cancel it this year an “undemocratic move”.
“If the admissions were postponed and the last admission was conducted till Sept 25, then preparation should have been made to postpone the elections too,” said Pradeep Singh Tomar, national coordinator (Uttarakhand), NSUI. Earlier, on Oct 18, angry over the college’s failure to announce the date for student union elections, three students from Haldwani’s Moti Ram Babu Ram Government Post Graduate College had climbed on the roof of the principal’s office and threatened self-immolation after pouring diesel on themselves. Later, the students issued an apology for their act.
Elsewhere in Dehradun, students have set up tents outside DAV College and Dayanand Brijendra Swarup College, where they have been camping since Friday. Several colleges in the district have also been forced to shut down due to the agitation.
Deepak Lohani , a candidate for the president’s post in the student union at the university, sustained 15% burns, primarily on his hands, stomach, and chest, said doctors.
The incident occurred during a protest at Chaughanpata, where Rahul Dhami, the university’s current student union president poured petrol on himself. As police tried to de-escalate the situation, Lohani, also a member of the same students’s group, set himself on fire after dousing himself with petrol. Police quickly extinguished the flames and rushed Lohani to the district hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment.
The issue of students’ elections has been simmering for almost a month ever since the deadline given by the state govt to universities for conducting the elections passed. The govt had issued an academic calendar on April 23, directing that student union elections be conducted by Sept 30. However, some of the university administrations failed to organise the elections within the specified time. The matter reached the Uttarakhand high court (HC) where a PIL was filed requesting the HC to intervene in getting the student union elections to be held. However, the PIL was dismissed on Oct 24 after the HC accepted the state govt’s contention that it is too late into the academic session to hold the elections.
In Almora, student organisations had given the call for a protest rally in the Chaughanpata area where they intended to burn effigies of state education minister Dhan Singh Rawat. This came as Amit Bisht, an NSUI member, announced on Saturday that he would self-immolate if demands were not met by Monday. The protest quickly escalated, leading to Dhami and Lohani’s self-immolation attempts. They warned the govt “not to test their patience” and vowed to keep fighting saying they will “force the state to yield”.
Dhan Singh Rawat said, “We have sought response from the universities. A double bench of the HC had passed the order to not go against the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee, which says that student union elections should be held between six to eight weeks after a new academic session starts. Now the students may approach Supreme Court to challenge the HC’s order because universities cannot go against it or the Lyngdoh Committee.”
Meanwhile, students from other districts also converged in Dehradun on Monday and marched from Congress Bhawan in the state capital to the secretariat. Another group of students from colleges in Dehradun also held a “funeral march” for Rawat by taking out a procession from DAV college to the secretariat.
Students said that the last polls were also held after a two-month delay, making the decision to cancel it this year an “undemocratic move”.
“If the admissions were postponed and the last admission was conducted till Sept 25, then preparation should have been made to postpone the elections too,” said Pradeep Singh Tomar, national coordinator (Uttarakhand), NSUI. Earlier, on Oct 18, angry over the college’s failure to announce the date for student union elections, three students from Haldwani’s Moti Ram Babu Ram Government Post Graduate College had climbed on the roof of the principal’s office and threatened self-immolation after pouring diesel on themselves. Later, the students issued an apology for their act.
Elsewhere in Dehradun, students have set up tents outside DAV College and Dayanand Brijendra Swarup College, where they have been camping since Friday. Several colleges in the district have also been forced to shut down due to the agitation.
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