The protest carried on into Tuesday evening, as the crowd of 500-odd people that thronged at the Audi entrance went on a peaceful march around NAB, shining torchlights. This was followed by a series of announcements by the student representatives, primarily about the current state of the protest, and the involvement of the alumni association (BITSAA). The BITSAA has expressed their intent to find a quick, peaceful, and agreeable resolution to the situation. Along these lines, it has requested the students to send a few representatives to engage in discussions with the administration, and asked the institute to engage with these representatives and periodically update the students.

A few minutes after 10:00 pm, the student representatives – consisting of Satyansh, Puli, and Namburi – addressed the crowd. They explained why the original plan for a symbolic protest – putting a blindfold on the G. D. Birla statue – was called off. The blindfolding was meant to symbolize that Mr. G. D. Birla would not have wanted to see BITS in the condition it is currently in, had he been alive today. However, the student representatives did not want the action to be misconstrued as disrespectful. Before the march was held, the student representatives praised the unity of the protesters, and said, ‘Such an enormous spectacle is not possible until and unless it is contributed to by every single student.’ They then took a few questions and suggestions from the audience. Following is a paraphrased account.

‘Since VC Sir is not on campus, who will be the one who takes this up?’

‘It is unfortunate that his (VC’s) health got deteriorated. To answer the question, the responsibility of VC, for Pilani campus, is currently being taken up by the director.’

‘What are we going to do if we don’t get an answer by the 14th, or whenever everybody is here?’

‘We have told the administration that it is their responsibility to finish all the dialogue by the time we leave campus. If they don’t do it, we do not intend to pay any more fee than what we’re currently paying.’

‘Why don’t we take up civil disobedience? Say, stay in the library after it closes or
block roads or something?’

‘We are able to mobilize the crowd and have a wider reach only because of our innovative ways. We are also getting alumni support because of this.

If we go a level above what we have been doing, the situation might escalate in other campuses. This is because whatever they (the other campuses) are doing is inspired by Pilani campus. If we resort to civil disobedience, things could take a violent turn in sister campuses. Students from Hyderabad campus have already blocked their campus gate.

What we’re trying to say is, we need to be very careful before taking further steps. The alumni are supporting us because we have been peaceful in our approach. Many alumni were happy when they saw that we had books with us while protesting. Had this been some other college, the proceedings might not have been so peaceful. Such is the spirit of BITSians, and we request you to uphold it. Let us not jeopardise what we have worked so hard to build. Please do not do anything that might disrupt the entire movement.’

The student representatives also took the opportunity to ask students to be aware of the repercussions of their online actions. Following is a paraphrasing of their warning.

‘Please do not post anything that might create misconceptions about the movement. News agencies do not have first-hand information. If your account of what happened is inaccurate, and they happen to repost your tweet, it could spread misinformation. Please refrain from tweeting about something you’re not sure of, or something that may be your personal interpretation but may not necessarily be an accurate account of the proceedings.’

The student representatives also announced their intention to start a new online campaign titled “#BirlaJiSpeakUp”. They asked all the students to post on social media using that hashtag.

Following this session was another peaceful march back to the auditorium. When the group reassembled in front of the auditorium at around 10:30 pm, the student representatives made a few more statements. They asked the students to be patient – ‘You can’t expect the results of our efforts to show immediately. You might feel that the movement is slow, but please remember that it is not stagnant. We can’t have a movement that maintains an upward trend all the time. We can’t have protest after protest without resting. If that happens, it (the movement) might reach its peak, and then die out completely. We believe in doing one or two innovative things every day – things we hope will grab the attention of the students, the media, the alumni, and even the Institute.’

It was announced that the directors had spoken to Mr. Debu Bhattacharya, the advisor to Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla. This indicates that the student concerns have been conveyed to the highest level, and there is hope that the necessary actions will be taken. The lead group acknowledged the contribution of all the students who have been taking an active role in the protest, and asked them to keep the momentum going. They also invited suggestions from the students – ‘Any inputs from your end are highly appreciated. Please approach us and discuss your thoughts on how we should proceed with this movement. We have decided to form a proper structure for organizing this protest – we will have people working on social media, people working with the media, people speaking to the alumni, people speaking to the Institute, and people speaking to you. This structured approach will come in before tomorrow, and hopefully, we will be more organized than before.’ The students are also forming a research team to prepare for negotiations with the institute.

Following this, the crowd settled back near the auditorium entrance, where mattresses and fans had now been set up. Another twenty minutes later, an announcement was made regarding the outcome of the meeting between BITSAA International and the directors of all four campuses –

‘In the meeting, the Alumni tried to understand what was happening in the different campuses, what the stakeholders wanted, and how BITSAA could play a role towards resolving this. They have said that they will help us get out of this situation, and we need to trust them with that. They suggested that we take enough rest and not let the proceedings hamper our academic performance.

The alumni are happy that the hunger strike was called off before anybody’s health got severely affected. They do not want the students to be harmed in any way.

Very simply, if we keep emotions aside for a minute, all of us are aware that this is a complex process. It will take time. The alumni realize, however, that this is a pressing problem, and BITSAA has promised to work towards our betterment. They are working across countries, and are internally discussing how the situation can be resolved at the earliest and in the best possible manner. They have assured us that they are working to support our cause. We should trust them and give them time.’

On the morning of May 9th, BITSAA posted an announcement reaffirming the same points.

Dear BITSians

BITSAA International has been continuously engaging with the student representatives on the campuses and the BITS administration as well. Over the last day, we have spoken with multiple student representatives and directors of all four campuses. We learnt both perspectives and communicated students’ views to BITS administration. The administration has been and still is very open to engage with students.

Based on our conversations, it is our understanding that all parties want to solve this amicably. We request everyone to work towards providing a conducive environment. Our appeal to the students is to identify a few representatives who can engage with the administration and have a rational discussion upholding the BITSian spirit and mutual respect. Our appeal to the administration is to engage with the representatives and provide periodic updates to the students.

We urge all the students to continue to take their exams seriously and maintain a good campus life.

We at BITSAA International will continue to engage with both students and administration and do all we can to help.

Regards

Sandhya Prakash

Chairperson – BITSAA International

Ravi Sekhar Cherukuri

CEO – BITSAA International