ফি মকুব দাবি ছাত্র সংগ্রাম কমিটি’র মানবশৃঙ্খল
Human chain formed in demand of unconditional fee relaxation

July 21: Unconditional Fee Relaxation Agitation Committee (ফি মকুব দাবি ছাত্র সংগ্রাম কমিটি) organised a human chain in support of their demand near the statue of Khudiram at Silchar on Sunday morning. Placards were hung around their necks by the agitating students and public. Slogans were also raised against the new policy adopted by the state government as regards relaxation of fees of the students.

On this day, the organisation spearheading this movement of fee relaxation, AIDSO also offered floral tributes in the memory of language martyrs Jagan & Jishu. Speaking during the occasion, Gour Chandra Das, General Secretary of Cachar AIDSO said, “In 1986, when the then Chief Minister of Assam Prafulla Kumar Mohanta visited Karimganj, police opened fire at the peaceful agitation led by the common people for restoration of their mother tongue.In that firing. two youth from Karimganj became martyrs. They are Jaganmoy Deb (Jagan) and Dibyendu Das (Jishu). To commemorate their highest sacrifice, today we too have offered deep tribute to these two martyrs.”

In the morning, floral tributes were were paid to Jagan & Jishu in a make-shift martyr’s column erected near the statue of Khudiram. Relevant speeches highlighting their contribution to the protection of Bengali language were given by Projjal Deb, Hillol Bhattacharjee and others. Gour Chandra Das further said, “Being inspired by the sacrifice of Jagan & Jishu, we have rallied behind the poor students who were victimised by the state government. AIDSO strongly denounces the stand of the state government due to whose apathy, large number of poor students were excluded from the fee-waiver scheme. As a mark of protest, we have organised this human chain.”

Gour Chandra Das also said that on 22 July, 2019, a torch rally would be taken out at Silchar to send a clear message to the state government, which has ‘undemocratically thrown out large number of students from the fee-waiver scheme.’ The torch rally on 22 July will begin from the Khudiram statue and end near Netaji’s statue at Rangirkhari point.

It needs mention here that when Himanta Biswa Sarma was the Education Minister of Assam during the Chief Ministership of Sarbananda Sonowal, fee-waiver scheme for students belonging to economically backward section was started for admission in colleges of the state in 2016-17. Those students whose parents income was below Rs. 1 lakh were provided fee-waiver. But when Siddhartha Bhattacharjee became the Education Minister, some changes were brought in this policy. It was now notified by the Higher Education Department that fee-waiver would be provided to students whose parents earn upto Rs.2 lakh. Though the ceiling of being eligible for the fee-waiver scheme was increased, but it was also stated that henceforth fee-waiver will be continued for the students in the subsequent semesters, if and only if the students have 75 percent class attendance and have no back/arrear paper(s).

AIDSO launched the Unconditional Fee Relaxation Agitation Committee (ফি মকুব দাবি ছাত্র সংগ্রাম কমিটি) opposing the government notification of imposing the condition of compulsory 75 percent class attendance and clearing of all papers in the previous year/semester to be eligible of fee-waiver in the subsequent year/semester.

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