All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) launches veiled attack on Vice-Chancellors

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) on Thursday launched a veiled attack on the Vice Chancellors (VCs) of 20 universities of the State for publishing an appeal in all the leading newspapers to urge the students’ community to refrain from the ongoing agitation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

The influential students’ organization while questioning the rationale behind publishing such appeal, has expressed shock as how could the Vice Chancellors despite holding respectable position in the society be so insensitive to the CAA issue.

“If the CAA is enforced in Assam, the indigenous people of the State will lose their cultural, linguistic identity and become second-class citizens in their own land. But the appeal of the VCs has not mentioned a single word on danger of the CAA,” AASU chief advisor Dr Samujjal Bhattacharya said.

Dr Bhattacharya said the AASU has already made it clear that the present agitation would not harm the academic interest of students. He pointed out that the students will study as well as agitate for the sake of safeguarding the identity of the indigenous Assamese people. “If the VCs think and feel themselves as guardians of students, they should have participated in the anti-CAA agitation,” the AASU leader said.

In an appeal published in all leading newspapers on December 19, Vice Chancellors of 20 universities have urged the students’ community to concentrate on their studies and help the varsities to conduct classes and examinations in time. Among others, the VCs of Gauhati University, Dibrugarh University, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences, K.K. Handique State Open University, Tezpur University, National Law University, Assam, Bodoland University and Assam Women University, Jorhat have signed the appeal.

“Where were the VCs when the police killed the innocent sixteen-year-old student during a democratic anti-CAA protest in Guwahati? Why haven’t they condemned the killing and atrocities on students?” Dr Bhattacharya questioned.

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