NEHU students not to call off fast protest till VC is removed

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaNovember 16, 2024

The agitating students of the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) has decided to continue with their ongoing indefinite hunger strike till the demand for ousting the incumbent vice chancellor Prof Prabha Shankar Shukla is achieved. 

“The demand is clear and uncompromising: the Vice Chancellor Prof Prabha Shankar Shukla must resign, be removed or leave the university permanently,” leaders of the NEHU Students’ Union and Khasi Students’ Union (KSU – NEHU Unit) said in a joint statement issued on Friday night.

“This is not a plea, it is a declaration of intent. Until this demand is met, the ongoing hunger strike will not only continue but intensify. Our resolve is unshakable, and our spirit is unbreakable,” they said.

The university has been brought under total lockdown since November 5 following the indefinite hunger strike protest spearheaded by the two student bodies demanding the removal of the incumbent VC for his failure to terminate the registrar and deputy registrar. 

The student bodies also stated, “To those who stand in the way and those standing along with us in our fight for justice, hear us clearly, we will not falter, we will not yield and we will not rest until Prof PS Shukla is gone from the university. The battle for what is right will continue, and we will not back down. This is our university and we fight for its future. The struggle lives on. The fight continues!”

Further, the agitating students also welcome the appointment of the acting VC.

“…following the notification from the Union Ministry of Education, Government of India, regarding the constitution of a two-member committee to conduct an inquiry into our university, and in light of the Vice Chancellor Prof PS Shukla, taking a 15-day earned leave, it is important to note that, as per the NEHU Acts and Statutes, the appointment of a Vice Chancellor-in-Charge is necessary to ensure the continued functioning of the university. Despite the instatement of a Vice-Chancellor-in-charge Prof N Saha whom the students leaders and the students community wholeheartedly accepted his instatement, the NEHUSU and KSU NEHU Unit remain steadfast in our fight for justice,” they maintained.