Kolkata Apr 23 PTI Tension prevailed amid protests and police deployment at Visva-Bharati in Bengals Birbhum district on Saturday two days after a student was found hanging in a hostel room with his parents claiming that he was murdered and that the university was trying to hush up the matterThe deceased was a Class 12 student of Patha Bhavana a school run by the institutionProtests have rocked the university campus over the past two days as the boys parents along with other students demanded an audience with vice chancellor Bidyut Chakrabory seeking to know more about the 17-year-olds demiseSome of the agitators had broken open the lock of the main gate outside the VCs residenceA team of police officers has been deployed outside the VCs residence to avoid any gathering there a university official saidThe boys parents have filed a complaint at Santiniketan police station alleging that their child was murdered and the Visva-Bharati authorities was trying to suppress the caseGovernor Jagdeep Dhankhar had earlier tweeted that the VC sent him SOS seeking urgent police protection in view of the agitationHe had asked Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi to take immediate action in this regardVC Vishwa Bharati msg sent to CS for intervention WBPolice Dhankhar wroteAmid allegations by a section of protesters that he was not responsive to the agony of the boys family Chakraborty had earlier said that he did everything to ensure that the parents face no difficultyI had rushed the boy to Pearson Memorial Hospital from his hostel room and instructed the Visva-Bharati employees to ensure his parents did not face any difficulty I could not talk to them immediately due to the tense situation he told reporters on SaturdayBJP national secretary Anupam Hazra said in a Facebook post that the VC should have met the parents of the studentThis is what we expect from a teacher this is what is least expected from a teacher Hazra saidAn infuriated Chakrabarty responded to the post saying Hazra a former MP of Bolpur and ex-faculty of the institute should have checked facts before making sweeping comments PTI SUS RMS RMS

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 18 (ANI): The people of Bengal on Friday celebrated the festival of colours, predominantly known as Dol Utsav in the state through cultural programmes, marking the onset of spring season.

Kolkata Feb 28 PTI A section of students of Visva-Bharati University Monday barged into the registrars office and launched a sit-in demanding the immediate reopening of hsotels forcing the suspension of all classes They also demanded that the offline secondary level board exam conducted by Visva-Bharati for class ten students of Patha Bhavan and other few affiliated secondary schools in Sriniketan-Bolpur area be deferred by at least one month from the tentative date of February-March About 200 students barged into the office of Registrar Asish Agarwal chanting Halla Bol even as security personnel tried to prevent them from entering The protestors forced offline classes being held at Pathabhavan Visva-Bharatis primary and secondary education institution and various undergraduate and post graduate streams of different departments to stop They urged pupils to go out and abstain from entering the class rooms for three days if the hostels are not reopened by that time SFI leader and Visva-Bharati post graduate student Somnath Sow said the institutes authorities are turning a blind eye to the plight of hostel boarders especially those from the first year who have to shell out large amounts of money to put up in private lodges guest houses or opt for paying guest accommodations We demand immediate reopening of hostels Sow said and added that many students who were not associated with SFI had joined the protest Vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty and the registrar could not be contacted A Visva-Bharati official said a section of the students instigated trouble and termed it as unfortunate The students disrupted normal functioning of the university Though they had earlier made the same demands they are now disrupting campus activities The hostels will be opened in due course of time the official said Visva-Bharati will not apply force against the agitating students he added PTI SUS KK KK KK

Kolkata Feb 23 PTI Students of Visva-Bharati demonstrating for the reopening of hostels got into a scuffle with varsitys security staff on Wednesday when they tried to enter the central office scaling a boundary wallThe students have been agitating for a week now demanding the reopening of hostels but the vice-chancellor is unresponsive SFI leader Somnath Sow said We have been urging the vice-chancellor to talk to us but he is unresponsive Many students who are not locals are finding it difficult to fund their lodging in hotels as offline classes have resumed Sow saidAs the varsitys security staff did not allow the students to enter the central office a section of them tried to scale the boundary wall he saidMany of us were manhandled by the security staff leading to a scuffle We were heckled by security guards for raising a just demand he addedThe students will continue to demonstrate till the varsity reopens the hostels which are closed since the beginning of the pandemic he saidThe agitating students created trouble and went after the security staff who were doing their job as people in groups are not allowed to enter the central office a spokesperson of the university saidNo decision has been taken on the reopening of the hostels he said PTI SUS SOM SOM

Kolkata Jan 28 PTI Visva Bharati University Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty has courted a fresh controversy by stating that this dream institution of Rabindranath Tagore having lost its global identity has gone on to become Bolpur Bharati or Paschim Bango Bharati Bolpur in Birbhum district is where the university is situated Chakraborty while addressing a programme on the institutes campus on Thursday asserted that he would not allow the upcoming new campus of the central university at Ramgarh to become Uttarakhand Bharati in a similar fashion Taking exception to his remark TMCs Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal said his assertions have demeaned the people of Bolpur and other stakeholders of the university Mondal sought Chakrabortys immediate ouster Earlier the VC had sparked a row when he said that local traders a section of Bolpur residents and some students and faculty members have treated the cash-starved institution as a goose that gives golden eggs During his speech on Thursday he said Visva-Bharati has been turned into Paschimbango Bharati or Bolpur Bharati over the years We face opposition and criticism for each and every step we take I will ensure the same thing does not happen to the universitys upcoming campus in Ramgarh Uttarakhand It will retain the ideals of Tagore The VC was also apparently referring to the criticism over his move to fence the Poush Mela ground and his decision to cancel the annual fair this year Meanwhile members of leftwing students organisation -- SFI and the AISA -- engaged in a scuffle with the security personnel of the university when they were stopped from entering the central office to hand over a deputation to the VC demanding immediate resumption of physical classes SFI leader Somnath Sow said some of the representatives of the two organisations were injured during the fracas We want immediate resignation of the VC who has no qualms about security personnel tussling with young students who are like his children Sow said University authorities and Chakraborty did not respond to calls made by PTI for their comment on the two issues PTI SUS RMS RMS

Kolkata Dec 22 PTI Visva-Bharati has announced the schedule for a four-day on-campus event Poush Utsav beginning Wednesday while remaining tight-lipped about the observation of the annual heritage fair Poush Mela -- the annual heritage fair -- showcases diverse art and craft in West Bengals Santiniketan during this time of the year drawing lakhs of people from across the country as well as abroad The central university issued a notice on Tuesday stating that baitaliks musical procession prayers foundation day celebrations and Christotsav Christmas will be the highlights of four-day Poush Utsav traditionally held alongside Poush mela but made no mention about the cultural event Taking exception to the notification the Visva-Bharati University Faculty Association VBUFA said it strongly condemns the recent hide-and-seek policy of the administration Till date we have not been told officially that the university is skipping Poush Mela Visva-Bharati failed to show minimum courtesy to acknowledge the letter received from Bolpur Municipality and Santiniketan Trust expressing their interest to conduct Poush Mela A Visva-Bharati official said the university has decided against holding the fair for the second consecutive year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and rise in Omicron cases To this a VBUFA member said First of all there is no government prohibition on holding a mela if some precautions are taken In fact Gangasagar mela and bookfair are being held with government approval and support Second if there is any threat of COVID-19 and Omicron as claimed by Visva Bharati officials it is the university that is going to make everyone vulnerable to these threats by mobilising hundreds of people for Poush-Utsav Meanwhile Bangla Sanskriti Mancha a cultural group in association with a local traders body has decided to organise an alternative fair at another venue instead of the Poush Mela ground for five days from December 23 We have also sent an invitation letter to Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabortys office but no confirmation has been given about his visit thus far a spokesperson of Bangla Sanskriti Mancha said Poush Mela which dates back to 1894 had not been held only thrice up until now first during the Bengal famine in 1943 then because of the Great Calcutta Killings of 1946 and finally owing to the COVID-19 situation last year PTI SUS RMS RMS

Kolkata Dec 17 PTI Visva Bharati which had been functioning without a full-time registrar for six years has recently appointed retired Army colonel Ashis Agarwal to the post Agarwal took over from officiating registrar Ashok Kumar Mahato earlier in the week the university said in a notification A senior faculty member said Dr D Gunasekaran was the last full-time registrar of Visva Bharati He had stepped down on August 31 2015 to join as registrar of IIT-Bhubaneswar PTI SUS RMS RMS

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], September 3 (ANI): The Calcutta High Court on Friday said that no protests can be held within 50-metre area of the Visva Bharati University in Shantiniketan.

Kolkata Aug 31 PTI Expressing solidarity with students protesting near the residence of Viswa-Bharati Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty over expulsion of three peers JNU Students Union president Aishe Ghosh and SFIs West Bengal chief Srijon Bhattacharya on Tuesday joined the demonstration in Birbhum The student leaders said that the VC should immediately revoke the rustication order and change his anti-student undemocratic way of functioning or put in his papers as the agitation entered the fourth day Three students -- two of them from the economics department and one pursuing music -- were rusticated for three years on August 23 for disorderly conduct A university official said the students were given a chance to defend their case before the enquiry commissioner appointed by the university but they were unapologetic Ghosh a national-level SFI leader told reporters that she wanted to extend support to the three students who are staring at an uncertain future due to the draconian decision of the VC This cannot be allowed We are pledging full support to the students of Visva-Bharati In fact from JNU to Visva-Bharati whenever the VCs are appointees of the BJP government at the Centre there are attempts to crush liberal views impose one school of opinion Ghosh claimed She said it is for the students of the central university to decide what ways they will be adopting to take forward the protest but the SFI will continue to stand by them Bhattacharya on his part alleged that the decision by Visva-Bharati to temporarily suspend admission to UG and PG courses in the wake of the protest is aimed at showing the agitating students in a poor light In a notice on Monday the university had said that the admission process was being put on hold as the VC whose approval is routinely required is currently under siege A section of faculty members known to be close to the VC visited the site of the sit-in to broker peace between university authorities and students but all efforts failed as the demonstrators stuck to their demand for revocation of the expulsion order We came here on our own as stakeholders We dont represent university authorities but we are concerned about the turn of events We came here to see if talks can be initiated They are our children one of the faculty members told reporters PTI SUS RMS RMS

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], August 31 (ANI): Visva-Bharati University has temporarily suspended the admission process and publication of results, confirming that Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty is "under siege" due to the ongoing agitation by a section of students.