Jan Ki Baat brings out the story of protest in Banaras Hindu University reported by its verified Citizen Reporters.
The protests were marked with slogans like “VC GC Bahar niklo”, “We want justice”, “Awaaz do, hum ek hain”, “Hume chaie Azaadi” and many more.
The protests started at the night of 21st September when the issue of eve teasing with a girl came out. Although, there have been such cases earlier but this was like the saturation point.
A girl left for her hostel after her classes around 6pm in the evening. Some boys came and teased her. She reported the incident to the proctors/guards but they asked her to go to her hostel instead.
The next morning from 6 pm, several girls from the hostel rose to start the protest against this eve teasing and an unsafe campus.
Along with girls, many of the boys also joined the protest against this unsafe campus for girls.
DAY 1
The very first day i.e. on 22nd September, Our Verified Citizen Reporter who is also a student of Banaras Hindu University reported the events live.
“We are demanding a campus that is safe for us and also where the security is also safe enough to protect us.”- Student
“We want our VC to come and hear our demands. Instead of sitting in his office, he should come out and talk to us. That is the only solution to this problem.”- Student
The girls prepared a list of the following demands-
- They want CCTV cameras to be installed everywhere in the campus.
- They want proper street lights.
- They also demanded to give proper security to the guards first so that they can fight those nasty boys.
- Also, they want the rules to be the same for both boys and girls. If girls are not allowed to go out after 8 pm then the boys should also be regulated.
Among these, one was the foremost i.e. the VC to come and address them.
After a few hours of protest, the SDM of Varanasi came to address the girls and assured them that they are going to initiate talk with their VC. But the girls wanted the talks to be done in open.
The boys also seemed quite enthusiastic during the protest. They were totally supporting the girls.
The protest completed 24 hours but the VC was not convinced yet.
The students were stuck to their demands.
DAY 2
The second day was reported by our Varanasi based verified Citizen Reporter Kunwar Hari Om.
At first many girls refused to talk as they feared suspension.
A girl told, “Many political forces are trying to enter the protest but this is our protest and it is not influenced by anyone.”
“Many boys are trying to divert the issue but we are stuck at our demands.”
“VC always says that he is our guardian, so he must come and guide us now or at least address us.”
During the protest, the hostel warden of Triveni Sankul came to ask the girls to chose representatives for talks with VC, but they refused.”
After more than 40 hours, the police started lathi charge on girls. Many of them were severely injured.
The male constables even entered the Mahila MahaVidyalaya and hit girls with lathis.
DAY 3
Several channels started panel discussions on the BHU protest in which the panellists were politicians or party members.
Jan Ki Baat took out a live discussion hosted by Pradip Bhandari, Founder and CEO.
It was a first of its kind live where Students participated over phone call.
The discussion included students from the university itself to maintain credibility and proper delivery of facts. It was also to ensure that the issue doesn’t get politicised.
They raised questions, provided solutions, and also demanded certain things to be accomplished.
Both girls and boys called and laid out the true events that happened. They clarified what modified news was presented by the News Channels.
They raised their issues and problems. The live continued for a good time and many students were connected.
For more updates and accomplishments on the issue, stay connected to Jan Ki Baat.
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