One of the most celebrated institutions, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) is also an insulated campus with its political radar pointing between indifferent and apolitical. It is not often that one sees political events other than student elections take place on the campus. But the recent solidarity movements on campus, however small, show a sign of student engagement with the politics of the ‘outside world’.

On April 15, around 25 students of IIT-Madras, without any political banners, went on a two-day hunger strike on campus in solidarity with the farmers’ protest in Delhi and anti-liquor protests in Tamil Nadu. The protest aimed at raising awareness amongst the student community and a show of solidarity.

Even before the farmers’ protest began in Delhi, groups on campus like Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle  (APSC) had been discussing and analysing the plight of farmers and making the students aware. Subsequently, a few students on campus felt the need to move beyond discussions and rise in solidarity with the other protestors in the state.  

The students chose to go on a hunger strike thinking that it could be an effective form of protest. “Other forms of protests do not garner much attention and sloganeering can go only for a while,” said K Swaminathan, a research scholar. Word spread over e-mails, posters and the social media.

On April 15 students gathered with placards and banners. Anticipating maximum visibility, they sat on the lawns facing the biggest dining-facility on campus. A total of five Police and security personnel were deployed in the vicinity to avoid untoward activity and keep an eye on the protesters. While 25 students took part in the hunger strike, the number of students who sat in support was roughly 60. In between slogans, the protesters held lengthy discussions on the plight and non-profitability of agriculture in India and the politics that shape it. P Sainath’s documentary Nero’s Guests (2009), which discusses farmers’ suicides in the country, was also screened.

On second day, students showed their support with 317 signatures on a petition, which talks of farmers’ issues, within two hours. Later in the day, IIT-M alumnus and guest faculty, agrarian economist Venkatesh Athreya visited the protesters and discussed the Seeds Bill of 2004, India’s trade agreements and the effect of reduction of fertilizer and manure subsidies coupled with price hike.

With regards to the vending of liquor, the students of IIT-M had come forward in protest earlier as well. In August 2015, when the students wanted to voice their opinion in the ongoing anti-liquor protest in the state,they were denied permission. In wake of the police crackdown on the anti-liquor protests taking place in the state, the students expressed their support by staging one of their own.

After the two-day long discussions, students drafted a series of suggestions and causes–establishing the farmers’ situation to LPG policies, farmers’ right to set prices for their produce, a Cauvery water tribunal to be set-up immediately, all debts to be waived, and appropriate compensation for crop failure as well as drought relief. They also recommended TASMAC (liquor stores) shops to be removed along the highways and not simply relocated.

The protest ended at 5 pm on April 17, with even the campus’ beloved Ramu uncle of Ramu tea stall doing his bit by offering juice and biscuits to end the fast. Along with the student body, the protest also managed to reach out to the public, with media outlets covering the hunger strike. For an institute that prefers practice-sheets over newspapers, standing in solidarity for a cause is a significant step towards a political stance.