Mumbai: Cops detain TISS students, activists protesting ‘anti-student’ policies

The protesting students at Trombay police station

A Few students from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and civil society members, who are part of a group called Collective Mumbai, were detained by the Trombay police on Wednesday evening for staging a protest outside the TISS Mumbai campus. The demonstration was held to oppose what the group termed as "anti-student" policies of the institute's management and to express solidarity with fellow student Ramadas Prini Sivanandan, a suspended PhD scholar and member of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) Central Executive Committee. They were later released.

Collective Mumbai - a student-led group comprising TISS students, writers, activists, and members of various left and Dalit organisations - claimed to have organised the protest to defend freedom of speech and protect democratic spaces within the campus.

Among those detained were SFI All India General Secretary Mayukh Biswas, SFI Maharashtra State Secretary Rohidas Jadhav and SFI Maharashtra President Somnath Nirmal. Other detained individuals included prominent civil society members such as Shailendra Kambale, Vivek Monteiro, Narayan, Sugandhi Francis, Armaty Irani, Sanjay Kambale and Rekha Deshpande.

Jadhav said. "We have witnessed a brutal crackdown on democratic rights in Maharashtra through state-supported violence."

Students warned

A day before the protest, the TISS administration issued an advisory warning students against participating in protests. The email, signed by Prof M Mariappan, dean of student affairs, read: "Considering your safety and security, you are advised not to participate in protests outside or inside the campus. If anybody is found participating in such activities, they will be held responsible for the consequences. Please comply with the institute's honour code."