People's Democracy

THE Himachal Pradesh state committee of the CPI(M) has condemned the uncalled for provocation by the police against the peacefully agitating students, which led to violence and police firing on the unarmed students and people. More than 65 persons were injured in the melee when the police opened fire on the students in Theog on October 3.

The Students Central Association (SCA) of the Theog College had long been agitating for a single trip bus service from Shilaru to Theog. The SCA demanded this service because there are no hostel facilities in Theog. On the other hand, the government has itself provided such bus services wherever 40 or more passes have been issued to school and college students. Though 80 such passes have been issued in Theog, no bus service has as yet started.

The October 3 incidents were preceded by a series of agitation, but the concerned authorities always adopted a hard-line attitude towards the demand. It was the same attitude towards the more than 12 days long relay hunger strike, forcing the students to go on to an indefinite hunger strike. Thus, in fact, the authorities always adopted a provocative stance and finally attacked the students brutally on the fifth day of the hunger strike.

It was the police brutality against the students that unleashed mass anger, which did not abate even after savage repression unleashed on the Theog students and farmers. The CPI(M) has demanded that the state government immediately release all those in police custody, order a judicial enquiry into the incident, and adequately compensate all the injured. All demands of the agitation must be met forthwith to normalise the atmosphere in the area.

The CPI(M) believed that this incident was not an isolated one. A death in police custody in Nahan, an attack on farmers at Dharampur, and demonstrations against police negligence in Mandi in the last couple of days, reflect how the BJP-led state government is out to unleash police terror to silence the people. There is anger over these attacks all over the state and it seems the people will no longer tolerate such actions.

The police firing on the students in Theog was also condemned by the central executive committee of the Students Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), in a joint statement issued from New Delhi on October 4. Pointing out that it was the responsibility of the state government to address the genuine demands of the agitating students, the statement said the firing showed the undemocratic nature of the BJP government of Himachal Pradesh. But the students’ agitation cannot be suppressed by unleashing police terror, the statement warned.

The SFI and DYFI demanded that the issue be settled through discussion with the agitating students. Any sort of the force used on agitating students would be opposed tooth and nail. The two organisations also appealed to the students and youth to resist and defeat the undemocratic means of the BJP government. They also demanded the suspension of the police officers who were responsible for the incident and institution of a judicial inquiry into the incident. (INN)