[ZESTCaste] Kodandaram losing sway over OU campus?

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Kodandaram-losing-sway-over-OU-campus/articleshow/9376993.cms

Kodandaram losing sway over OU campus?
TNN | Jul 27, 2011, 02.03AM IST

HYDERABAD: About 20 students led by Osmania University students joint
action committee (AC) met Prof M Kodandaram, the political JAC
convener for Telangana, on Monday and demanded that he consult them
before deciding any student-related agitation including educational
bandhs hereafter.

The formal meeting saw a public demonstration of the growing
resentment in the OU student community against the political JAC chief
who is currently spearheading the T agitation. And what more, several
faculty members of the university, too, share the students' feelings,
sending out indications that Kodandaram is no longer seen as a
respected a leader as before on his own campus i.e., Osmania
University.

The students and the faculty members of OU say that the Telangana
agitation is largely becoming TRS-driven under the guidance of
Kodandaram. The groups that have come out in the open against the
political JAC leader on the OU campus include People's Democratic
Students Union (PDSU), Dalit and BC student unions, SC & ST Telangana
Teachers Forum, Osmania University Teachers' Front and also some
sections of the OU students' JAC.

The students aver that the political JAC, which was formed after
OU-JAC, has hijacked the agitation and is steering it towards what
seems to be a 'T' stalemate. "In the most recent case, the political
JAC called for an educational bandh and it wasn't successful. The
bandh was called without consulting the students' unions on OU campus
and other Telangana campuses," said M Krishank, the OU-JAC
spokesperson. "We need to know who is taking decisions in the
political JAC and why students and faculty members of OU are not being
consulted before calling for bandhs," he added. Some of the faculty
members of the university who are in fact part of Telangana political
JAC are also not called for meetings and discussions, sources said.

Sources said that the rift between Kodandaram and students is now
widening on caste lines, particularly after the Harish Rao incident in
Andhra Bhawan, New Delhi.

Soon after television channels flashed images of Harish Rao slapping a
Dalit staff member of Andhra Bhavan in New Delhi, the students in OU
held a protest even as Kodandaram maintained that the incident could
not be classified as a case of caste discrimination. "Students had
called for protests against TRS wingman Harish Rao even after
Kodandaram explained to them that the incident cannot be linked to
caste discrimination. In fact, the protests against Harish Rao were
led by both Dalit and non-Dalit students unions which once supported
political JAC," said a professor.

The Harish Rao incident did not go down well with most SC students who
have played a crucial role in the Telangana movement on OU campus.

Faculty members said that Kodandaram, who used to command respect in
all faculty circles when he was the president of Telangana
Vidyavanthula Vedika before 2009, is now being looked down upon for
being close to the TRS wing. "The TRS never had any support base on
campus. And anyone who is overtly associated with TRS is considered to
be a turncoat on OU campus. Owing to his pro-TRS stand which is
becoming more visible by the day, Prof Kodandaram has lost the support
he used to enjoy on OU campus before 2009," said Prof Mallesham. He
said that Telangana Professors' Collective, which was formed in 2009
on OU campus, commands the respect of students now, more than the
political JAC.

Several faculty members are also openly writing about their
differences with Kodandaram in university newsletters, the sources
said.

Sources indicated that the students of OU who used to back any
agitation proposed by the Telangana JAC are also slowly expressing
their dissatisfaction in public. "Except for one of the students'
wings led by Pidamarthi Ravi, no students' collective on campus is
supporting the TRS or political JAC's action plan," a source said.

Despite several attempts by TOI, Kodandaram could not be contacted for
his comments.

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