Students from Allahabad University threatened to commit “bhu samadhi” by burying themselves in a trench they dug at their protest location on Tuesday as they protested a fee increase. Police officers reportedly had to pull several of them out of the five-foot pit near the protest squat on the university grounds after they leapt in there. Additionally, more police officers were called in. Students have been protesting for a few days, alleging that their tuition has increased by almost thrice. Later, they added trees to the pit.
Adarsh Singh Bhadauria, a member of the NSUI, claimed that students were prepared to take their own lives in protest of the fee increase, but the university administration was steadfast in its refusal to reverse the increase. Through postcards, students connected to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad have informed the chancellor of Allahabad University about the ongoing protest.
They claimed in a letter that the university management had raised tuition by 300 percent in an unethical manner, depriving many students of an education. They asked that the increase be reversed. “Our fight is with the dictatorial vice-chancellor of Allahabad University because their decision (the fee hike) is ruining the image of the central and state governments,” said ABVP state convener for sports activity Kartikeya Pati Tripathi. He said, “I want the government to issue a direction to revoke the fee hike and take suo motu care of this situation.
