Students have been protesting against the appointment of BJP leader and small-time actor Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman of the premier institute for over 100 days.
A day before protesting students of Film and Television Institute of India are expected to meet the government, they have released a strongly-worded letter signed by 200 American intellectuals, backing their stir and criticizing the Centre.
The letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is signed by 200 intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Partha Chatterjee of Columbia University.
Students have been protesting against the appointment of BJP leader and small-time actor Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman of the premier institute for over 100 days.
On Sunday,
they called off their 18-day-old hunger strike after both sides exchanged letters and agreed to meet and sort out the differences.
The letter supporting the agitation of students says, "We as concerned individuals residing in the United States are distraught at the growing trend of restrictive academic policies and partisan appointments to academic positions, with specific reference to the crisis at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune."
The letter has also questioned other appointments to the governing body of the institute. "The action of your government in installing individuals whose qualifications are arbitrary at best as members of the Governing Council at FTII is regrettable and seems motivated mostly by their allegiance to the BJP," it said.
"The credentials of these hires, including Mr Gajendra Chauhan (candidate for chair of the Governing Body), Ms Anagha Ghaisas, Mr Narendra Pathak, Mr Pranjal Saikia, and Mr Rahul Solapurkar are dubious in the extreme," the letter said.
Students at the premier institute believe Mr Chauhan does not have the credentials to hold office and want him removed. The government, in a letter to the students had said it was ready to discuss the issue without any pre-conditions.