India
FTII bars journalists from entering campus
The Film and Television Institute of India has issued a directive barring journalists from entering the campus. FTII Director Gajendra Chauhan defended the move saying it was the "directors prerogative to decide who can and cannot enter campus." Now, journalists will need approval from the director to enter campus. Authorities said the move came after a woman journalist was found inside the boy's hostel.
FTII unrest escalates to arrests
Information & Broadcasting Ministry's decision to appoint Gajendra Chauhan as FTII president and chairman of its governing-council on 12 June 2015 created a stir amongst students. The students contended that Chauhan's affiliation with BJP was the reason behind his appointment. On 19 August, things had escalated to the extent that 5 students were arrested for allegedly confining institute director Prashant Pathrabe to his office.
FTTI students find a supporter in Rahul Gandhi
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi went to FTII, on the student's invitation and displayed solidarity with the protesting students. The FTII students entreated Rahul Gandhi to support their objection in the Parliament. Gandhi went ahead and said that RSS was 'mediocre' and was forcing its mediocrity on the institute. He further leveled the blame at Modi for having chosen Chauhan to head the institute.
SC refuses to interfere in FTII row
The Supreme Court refused to entertain a PIL looking for its mediation in the FTII logjam. Vineet Dhanda had filed the PIL claiming that the centre wasn't doing anything to avert the crisis. A bench chaired by Chief Justice H L Dattu and Justice Amitava Roy declined from hearing the request. FTII students, meanwhile, threatened to go on a "hunger strike en masse."
FTII teacher goes on hunger strike
Abhijit Das of the Art Direction department of the institution, went on a hunger strike on the 87th day of the strike seeking "immediate resolution" of the crisis.
FTII-strike enters 90th day: Students go on hunger-strike
3 students of FTII went on an indefinite hunger strike intensifying their demand for the replacement of Gajendra Chauhan as chairman of the institution. FTII Students' Association (FSA) representative Ranjit Nair said that if hospitalised, Hiral Savad, Alol Arora and Himanshu Shekhar will be succeeded by another batch of demonstrators. The students informed the director of the institute and I&B Ministry about the strike.
Chauhan breaks his silence on hunger-strike
Gajendra Chauhan said: "Hunger strike is no solution. I request them to sit across and have a dialogue with the minister or the ministry officially. Only then a solution can come out,"
Film fraternity calls for President's intervention
After the 3 students went on strike, members of the film industry wrote to President Pranab Mukherjee to intervene in the matter and end the strike. The 190 signatories of the letter comprising of all National award-winning "filmmakers, actors and technicians", included names such as Mani Ratnam, Vidya Balan, Aparna Sen, Rajkummar Rao, Resul Pookutty, Santosh Sivan, Jahnu Barua and Shriram Raghavan.
International directors voicing their support for FTII
International voices such as Torino film festival's director Emanuela Martini, Internationale Filmschule Koln (Germany) director Simone Stewens and Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf have written to the Indian government to address the FTII row.
FTII row: Government offers fresh talks sans preconditions
The centre in a bid to end the protest has offered a fresh proposal to talk to FTII students, 'without any preconditions'. In a letter directed towards FTII Students Association (FSA) President Harishankar Nachimuthu, the ministry maintained that on prior occasions advancement towards ending the deadlock had not taken place due to stiff preconditions. The offer came after BJP-leader Madhav Bhandari met the students.
12 filmmakers return national awards over FTII protest
Students at the FTII ended their 139-day strike, but the crisis is far from over. Twelve film-makers have decided to return their national honours over "growing intolerance" in the country. The filmmakers announced their decision in a letter to the President and the PM in which they critiqued the cold-hearted approach of the government towards the students and the strike in general.
Those who returned the honours
The filmmakers returning their honours are Dibakar Banerjee, Paresh Kamdar, Nishtha Jain, Anand Patwardhan, Kirti Nakhwa, Hari Nair, Harshavardhan Kulkarni, Rakesh Sharma, Indraneel Lahiri and Lipika Singh Darai. Previously two FTII alumni, Pratik Vatsa and Vikrant Pawar had given up their honours as well.
Gajendra Chauhan set to take charge of FTTI
Students of the FTII are ready to stage a "peaceful protest" at the institute on actor Gajendra Chauhan's arrival to take charge as chairman of the FTII Society. On the contrary, almost 150 staff members are anticipated to give a welcome to Chauhan and other new faculty members. The authorities commissioned people to whitewash and remove student's hateful slogans on campus against Chauhan.
