On July 22, the administration at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, issued a notification revoking the imposition of the sine die closure of all academic activities in Hyderabad campus.
According to the notification, the decision comes after scores of students, TISS alumni, professors, academicians and other well-wishers sent representations to the administration “appealing for resuming of academic activities in Hyderabad off-campus at the earliest.”
TISS Mumbai notification by The Wire on Scribd
Students at TISS Hyderabad were protesting against the administration’s decision to hike the hostel fee to Rs 54,650, forcing many government of India post-metric scholarship holders to look for private accommodation elsewhere.
After a two-week long protest, hunger strikes and “unfruitful” meetings with the acting deputy registrar and the chairperson, the administration on July 15 suspended all academic activities on the campus.
Meanwhile, students continued with the protest.
Four days later, on July 19, students filed a writ petition in Telangana high court challenging the college’s decision to suspend all academic activities on campus. The students told Huffpost India that the decision was “illegal, arbitrary and violative of Article 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India.”
On the same day, A.K. Prabhakaran called-off his hunger strike. Him, along with many other students, were on hunger strike since July 11. In his Facebook post, he said: “I have complete confidence in the judicial system and that the advocates would further my cause via the writ petition.”
The administration, thereafter, cancelled the suspension orders notifying students that the classes shall resume from Thursday, July 25.
Featured image credit: Twitter/@tissforeveryone