Kolkata: Refusing to let hostile attacks dictate the narrative, SRFTI students launched an indefinite academic boycott of all classes, workshops, and film shoots. They countered through a ‘Rise in Rage’ event on Tuesday evening featuring a street play titled ‘Trapped in Fear’ and a striking placard of Swami Vivekananda captioned ‘Swamiji would not tolerate violence on youth’. A powerful collective of artists and filmmakers rallied behind them with a scathing joint statement condemning the crackdown.Anamika Pal of the SRFTI Students’ Union noted that ongoing internal administrative disputes persist with none of their core demands met, leading students to continue occupying the vice-chancellor’s office even though he remains on campus.Tuesday’s protest saw participants engaged in a peaceful cultural gathering featuring songs, speeches, and poetry recitations. Placards bearing slogans such as “No stone will break our will” were also displayed at the gathering.Condemning the violence on campus, actor-director Chaiti Ghoshal, who participated in the gathering along with the likes of Debraj Nayya, Ushasie Chakraborty, Shankar Debnath, Sagnik Mukherjee, Arjun Gourisaria and Prantik Basu, stated: “I can’t accept the brutality on the film students on campus.” Emphasising that Swami Vivekananda was a youth icon who championed a questioning mind, she criticised using his image to politicise the situation or instigate a mob. She praised the students’ perspective, noting, “I absolutely admire the thought of SRFTI students who came up with such a caption for Swamiji’s placard.”Director Supriyo Sen, who was also present on campus, added, “There is room for dissent and counter-protest. But nothing can justify students being chased and beaten up on campus. This has to be condemned in the strongest terms.”Actor Ushasie Chakraborty criticised the forceful control of prime educational institutes. “Those attackers must be punished by law. How can the film industry turn a blind eye to the attack on students? This is disgusting,” she said.Meanwhile, more than 50 artists and filmmakers across India, including Payal Kapadia, Ranabir Das, Nishtha Jain, Devashish Makhija, Pratik Vats, Varun Grover, Bauddhayan Mukherji, Kanu Behl, Sarvnik Kaur, Karan Tejpal, Aditya Vikram Sengupta, Tanuja Chandra, Chhatrapal Ninawe, Sushmit Ghosh and Q, have issued a joint statement condemning the attack on students. Ronny Sen, who had signed the statement and was also present at the protest meet, said: “If being instigated or led by the Left is meant as an insult, I imagine the students would wear that label with pride. They have every right to peacefully register their protest.”The collective of filmmakers has issued a strong statement condemning the violence, humiliation, and intimidation faced by SRFTI students. Declaring that such brutality on an educational campus is unacceptable in a democracy, the signatories emphasised that film schools and universities must remain vital spaces for young people to question authority, encounter diverse ideas, and develop independent perspectives. “We are angry. We are outraged. And we refuse to treat this as just another incident to be forgotten tomorrow,” the statement stated.To address the crisis, the statement outlines five core demands. It first calls for an impartial, independent investigation into the event. Second, it demands immediate protection to ensure students and faculty can return to campus without fear of retaliation. Third, it insists on due process, opposing the collective criminalisation and political labelling of the student body. Fourth, it calls for transparency around the use of institutional spaces by external organisations in publicly funded institutions. Finally, it urges the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, SRFTI, and the state govt to safeguard cultural and educational institutions as safe spaces for free thought and dissent.
