IIT-M curbing our activities: Periyar group

After getting into controversy last year for criticising the Central government policies, the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSC) on Friday raised an issue against the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) management for curbing the activity of its team even to conduct meetings on the campus.

The APSC statement came in the wake of IIT-M administration, which allegedly denied permission for some students to attend a seminar on the occasion of 125th Birth Anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar.

Saying that discrimination against the APSC continues at the campus, the student’s group said “this is not the single incident. We are suffocating like anything for conducting any such events from the date of commencing of APSC. The restrictions increased even a lot after the re recognition of the APSC”.

Condeming the move by the IIT-M management for not allowing some students, the APSC said that shortly before the seminar could begin, the security personnel who were at the entrance of the auditorium, refused to allow people who didn’t have an IIT identity card as per order of dean of student.

“Due to this many aspirants of Ambedkar who came in to hear Prof Ram Punyani’s speech were not able to attend the meeting and they were sent back with disappointment”, it said adding “It is very hard to digest that even during the anniversary of Ambedkar, such discrimination continues and is sitting in the minds of the highly educated people of the institution”.

The APSC also added that right from the day the students of the organisation decided to have a seminar on Ambedkar's birth day, the management started creating hurdles. “We crossed them one after the other”, it added.

Citing a recent seminar on “Innovations driving the fourth industrial revolution” by CEO of Switzerland-based Robtic company, conducted on the campus, the APSC said people from various corporate houses came and none of them were denied entry.

“From compelling us not to conduct any cultural programme and restricting us from issuing pamphlets regarding, the institution did everything in its capacity to stop us”, the organisation said and added that while issuing the pamphlets also, APSC circle members were even threatened by a mob of students.

The APSC was derecognised by the IIT-M  on the charges of criticising the Central government policies and the prime minister Narendra Modi, besides hurting Hindu sentiments last year.