42 days of SRFTI protest; classes suspended until December 11

KOLKATA

The agitation at the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute (SRFTI) continued for 42 days as the suspension of classes was extended till December 11, affecting academic life. Film institute students said on Saturday (Nov 7, 2026) that “this Diwali we have decided to resist”, while authorities said they “want” to resume classes.

“Diwali has always been a special occasion at SRFTI… But this year the familiar celebrations are overshadowed by fear, insecurity and the ongoing struggle for justice,” said an official post by the SRFTI student union on Saturday (November 7, 2026), a day before Deepavali. They also said that the day they get justice will be Deepavali for them.

“While the faculty and administration are ready to resume classes, a section of students continue to remain disconnected from academics and disrupt the functioning of the institute by repeatedly violating its rules and orders,” Registrar Deepak Kumar told The Hindu on Saturday (November 7, 2026). He further added that they are asking students to sign up for constructive dialogue.

As of November 7, at least 25 students have received notices of exhibition events, with 11 receiving them last Thursday (November 5, 2026). Six students faced rustication and one FIR was registered against student union vice president Shubham.

Shubham is one of the six students who have received rustication notices for allegedly vandalizing and tampering with Vice Chancellor Santosh Ajmeera’s office. However, all these allegations were denied by the students.

According to the students, two contract faculty members and five SRFTI resource persons were also dismissed from their jobs in solidarity with the students.

Since classes remained suspended, the hostels and canteen were also closed for students. Many students lived under a makeshift tent during the protest as many of them are from states outside West Bengal.

The campus standoff began on September 27 after violence erupted in the film institute campus when the right-wing RSS party affiliated with the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP) staged an event on the campus and clashed with students. Several students were injured in the clashes.

Since then, students have been demanding accountability from the authorities for failing to protect them on their own campus. However, six of them received rustication notices two weeks later, on October 15, for manipulating the VC.

The students are also demanding the resignation of the VC for not taking action against the violence that left many students injured.

Meanwhile, the VC in his official statement said that the authorities have looked into the security concerns of the students and taken necessary measures and that they have taken disciplinary action against the students for “desecration of premises, provocative writings, intimidation of officials” and others.

Published – 8 Nov 2026 03:56 IST