Instructions given to remove Instagram videos supporting Jantar Mantar student movement and Sonam Wangchuk

There is no sign of stopping the anger of the students against the alleged paper leak and rigging of NEET exam across the country, but now administrative strictness has also started at the level of educational institutions. The pressure now seems to be increasing on students who have been sharing videos on social media in support of the ongoing protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and the hunger strike of environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk. In this sequence, the prestigious institute Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has directed its students to immediately remove their Instagram videos and posts made in support of the Jantar Mantar protests, which has sparked a new debate on freedom of expression on campuses. Message sent to the students on the instructions of the Dean and Faculty. A student of IIT Madras has informed on the condition of confidentiality that taking strict cognizance from the Dean of the institute, the students have been asked to remove videos related to the protests from social media. In the internal message received by the students, it was clearly written that the Faculty Advisor had also been summoned in this matter, after which the process of removing all those videos and posts showing solidarity in which students were supporting the Jantar Mantar movement has been started. This step of the administration has come at a time when students and youth in different parts of the country are continuously taking to the streets demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and transparency in the examination system. Viral video and increasing scope of cockroach Janata Party’s protest The whole matter came to a head when a small video of IIT Madras students went viral on social media. In this video, some students were seen with a banner on which was written a message of solidarity with the Jantar Mantar protests, Sonam Wangchuk’s fast and the students sitting on hunger strike. Let us tell you that this entire protest originally started with an Instagram handle named ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ run by Abhijeet Deepke, which has later taken the form of a big nationwide movement. After the gathering of thousands of students at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on July 20, this anger of students has started appearing on the streets in other major metros of the country including Mumbai, after which technical educational institutions have also started imposing restrictions regarding such posts in their campuses.