Locked up for 'Viksit Bharat' event, claim DU students

NEW DELHI: Several students of Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi, have alleged they were locked up inside the campus for over an hour and prevented from leaving, forcing them to attend a programme organised by the administration on the Centre’s flagship ‘Viksit Bharat’ initiative on April 8, reports Sugandha Jha.According to the students, the programme, organised by the department of political science and held at the college auditorium, was underway when security personnel shut the main gate, directing those attempting to leave to attend the event instead. The incident took place around noon. Posters on campus show the programme was an international conference on ‘Viksit Bharat @2047 and World Order’, with dignitaries from outside invited.Students allege violation of autonomyVideos circulating online show students gathered at the gate, arguing with guards. Some of them are heard saying they had “family emergencies” and needed to leave, while a guard is heard replying that the gate was locked on the “instructions of the principal” and that students had to join the event in the auditorium. In the clip, a student is heard telling the guard that her parents were calling her up and asking why she was unable to leave.The students alleged that the gates were opened only after a large group assembled at the entrance and raised objections.According to them, multiple events were scheduled on the campus that day, including a certificate course session on menstrual health and hygiene organised in collaboration with Unesco at a different venue. They claimed that they were being pushed to attend the programmes to ensure adequate turnout.The students claimed that making attendance a prerequisite for such events is a common practice at the college. They alleged that they are often required to attend programmes and are marked present for their classes only at the event venue.A postgraduate student, requesting anonymity, said, “Our classes had ended and we were heading home when we found the gates shut. There were many students waiting there. The guards told us it was on the principal’s instructions and that we had to go to the auditorium for an event. We were not even told what the event was, just asked to attend it. Some of us had work and other commitments, and people were getting calls from home. They kept us there for over an hour before the gates were finally opened.”Students’ Federation of India (SFI), a Left-backed organisation, also criticised the move, calling it a “violation of student autonomy”. In a post sharing the video, the group alleged that “locking gates and compelling students to attend the event reflected a misuse of authority and undermined the idea of universities as spaces of voluntary participation”.Calls and texts to principal Poonam Kumria did not elicit a response. A query was routed to her through a faculty member, Tanushree Sharma, who had previously coordinated with the media, but no response was received till the time of going to press.