THE Central Executive Committee of SFI, in a statement issued on February 6, has expressed deep concern and anger over the continuing developments in Indian universities which leads to the suicide of students one after another.   A young scholar has ended his life leaving another dark reminder how the universities have become effectively a killing field for the students and young scholars of our country under the thriving neo-liberal saffron raj of Modi. Twenty seven year old Mohit Chouhan, a PhD scholar from Rajasthan Central University had hanged himself allegedly because of the harassment from his guide.

The universities and other educational institutions in the BJP ruled state have literally become a thriving hub of rightwing anti-student elements, negating the democratic atmosphere required for academic activities. The university authorities are not ready so far to order an enquiry against its faculty member who had been accused for compelling Mohit to take the extreme step, losing his hope to survive any further in the hostile situation he faced in the university. The rising trend of institutional murders of young scholars in India under the saffron raj needs to fought vigorously and defeated by the progressive and democratic forces. SFI while extending sincere condolences to the near and dear ones of  Mohit, also strongly condemns the situations which led to this unfortunate incident and demands a transparent and impartial enquiry by police and the human rights commission. The culprits should be booked immediately.

It is only a few days ago that three women medical students of SVS Medical College in Villupuram, Tamil Nadu committed suicide following severe harassment by the college management. The universities are losing even the minimum democratic and inclusive nature they had. The continuing trends of making the campuses inaccessible for the students from deprived backgrounds, cutting away the democratic relationship between the students and supervisors, setting campuses with the structure and nature of prisons are opposed to the very idea of a university itself. SFI has appealed all the democratic forces to rise up in protest against the attempt to make our universities and campuses a killing field of students and researchers.