Suspension of student who protested Ram temple celebrations put on hold by NIT

Kozhikode: Following student uproar, the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Calicut has placed on hold a controversial suspension order handed to a student for participating in a protest on January 22 against the consecration of the Ram temple celebrations in Ayodhya.

The demonstration occurred on campus on the day of the temple's opening, when fights erupted between two groups of students, one celebrating the event and the other protesting. The protesting students, including the suspended student, chanted slogans and raised placards reading 'India is not Rama Rajya'.

On Wednesday, January 31, the Dean of Students' Welfare at NIT-C issued a suspension order to Vysakh Premkumar, a fourth-year Btech student, accusing him of “unlawful gathering” which resulted in “campus unrest” as well as “lowering the esteem of the institute both inside and outside the campus through his irresponsible behaviour”, the News Minute reported.

Vysakh's suspension sparked extensive campus protests, with the participation of the majority of major student unions, including the Students Federation of India (SFI) and the Kerala Students Union (KSU). The students held a sit-in protest at the main entrance of the school, chanting 'Azadi' and 'Strike on', forcing the authorities to reconsider their decision to suspend the student. 

Following the protests, the Institute issued an order on Thursday evening that read, “As per the directives of the competent authority, the decision to suspend Vyaskh Premkumar (B190622EC) is hereby placed on hold until the appellant authority decides the appeal submitted by the concerned student”. 

One of the videos from the event, which occurred on January 22, shows a small physical conflict between two groups of students, with one group shouting 'Jai Shri Ram' and the other chanting 'India is not Rama Rajya'. While multiple students can be seen participating in the commotion, just one student was suspended. According to an NIT Calicut alumna, this might also be interpreted as the institute making an example of the st

udent.