ISLAMABAD: A hunger strike by tribal students in Pune has entered its 10th consecutive day, with protesters pressing the BJP government in India’s western Maharashtra state to address a range of long-pending demands concerning hostel facilities, financial assistance, safety and employment, reports the Indian media.
The Hindu reports that students at the Government Tribal Hostel in Hadapsar’s Gopalpatti area began the indefinite hunger strike on August 13.
The newspaper said that six students are reported to be participating in the fast, while a larger group has joined a sit-in protest in support of their demands.
The protesters are seeking withdrawal of recent government resolutions concerning tribal hostels and want the provisions of an earlier 2011 order to be revised in line with present-day conditions and inflation. They have also demanded better hostel facilities and allowances for students.
ANI report said, “A major demand concerns the families of three tribal girls who died after snakebites at a residential school in Gadchiroli.”
“The students are seeking compensation of Rs1 crore for each family and criminal proceedings against officials allegedly responsible for the deaths.”
The protesters have also demanded (Indian) Rs10 crore insurance coverage for students living in tribal hostels and residential schools, along with the filling of around 12,500 vacant tribal posts and other pending vacancies across Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, The Pioneer writes: “They are seeking reinstatement and permanent appointment of employees removed under the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, or PESA, as well as strict implementation of the law in recruitment advertisements.”
Other demands include changes to caste-validity rules and improved educational and financial support.
Indian media is concerned that the prolonged protest has raised concerns over the health of the fasting students.
“Two protesters were reportedly admitted to Sassoon Hospital after experiencing breathing difficulties and dehydration, though they were later discharged and returned to the protest,” writes an Indian news website.
Manoj Jarange protest
The Pioneer reported that the tribal students’ agitation comes as Maharashtra faces another potentially significant protest over the contentious Maratha reservation issue.
The newspaper said, “Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange has remained firm on beginning a hunger strike on August 29 at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district if the state Government does not act on his demands.”
A delegation of Maharashtra ministers met Jarange and appealed to him to abandon the proposed agitation, but he set August 28 as the deadline for the Government to act.
Jarange is demanding that pending Kunbi caste certificates and validity documents be issued to eligible members of the Maratha community. He has argued that certificates should be processed on the basis of 58 lakh Kunbi records identified earlier.
Wave of students’ protest
The wider student movement began at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, where thousands protested alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, recruitment and paper leaks. Police dispersed demonstrators using tear gas, water cannons and baton charges, triggering nationwide outrage over the crackdown.
The agitation soon spread to Jharkhand, where students staged an indefinite sit-in and hunger strike in Ranchi over recruitment exam irregularities.
Police again used force to stop protesters marching towards the state assembly, leading to injuries and detentions. The protests later gained support from tribal organizations and civil society, forcing the Jharkhand government to accept several key demands and order investigations.