Silent protest march by IIT faculty-alumni in Kolkata

As part of their nationwide programme, nearly 75 faculty members and a large number of alumni of IIT Kharagpur on Saturday took part in a silent protest march in the city demanding immediate appointment of Partha Pratim Chakrabarti as the Institute's director. Similar protests were organised during the day in Delhi and Bengaluru, Indian Institute of Techology sources said.

Over 400 faculty members and alumni went on a day's token hunger-strike at the IIT's Kharagpur campus on July 17 to press for their demand.

"Hundreds of IIT alumni have signed up for the protests already and the numbers are swelling with the support of local IIT Alumni chapters," they said.

They alleged that IIT Kharagpur had been headless for over a year now, and the director Partha Pratim Chakrabarti, who has been selected by MHRD constituted search-cum-selection committee in July 2012, had not yet been allowed to assume office.

The protesters said that their demand was that Prof Chakrabarti be given CVC clearance and be appointed as the Director, IIT Kharagpur without any further delay and before July 29.

"This is a kind of movement which has brought Faculty-Alumni-Students together at any IIT for a shared cause," the sources said.

They said that in the absence of the director, no major policy decision could be taken at the institute.

Image: Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur; Photograph: Rediff Archives