Campus protests force NIT Srinagar to declare vacations; J&K DGP appeals for maintaining communal harmony

The authorities on Thursday stopped class work at two colleges, including the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Srinagar, in the wake of growing protests over an engineering student posting an “objectionable” video on social media. In an order, the NIT decided to declare winter vacations from November 30. It directed all the hostel boarders “to vacate the hostels with immediate effect”

The authorities on Thursday stopped class work at two colleges, including the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Srinagar, in the wake of growing protests over an engineering student posting an “objectionable” video on social media.

In an order, the NIT decided to declare winter vacations from November 30. It directed all the hostel boarders “to vacate the hostels with immediate effect”.

The NIT campus, for the past three days, witnessed a major face-off between students. A video posted by an engineering student, already booked by the J&K Police for “hurting religious sentiments”, triggered a major row on the campus.

The students held demonstrations for and against the accused, who has been suspended by the varsity. Around 3,000 students, at present, study at the NIT, Srinagar, from different parts of the country.

The protests spread to other campuses on Thursday, including the Amar Singh College and the Islamia College of Science and Commerce, in Srinagar. Students were seen raising pro-Islam slogans and demanding strict action against the student.

In a notice on Thursday, the authorities at the Islamia College of Science and Commerce said it had suspended all the academic activities for the day. “The normal activities at both institutes will resume on December 1, 2023,” a varsity spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the J&K Police appealed to people “not to fall prey to the nefarious designs of miscreants, out to gain mileage from it.”