Mangalore, July 24: The 12-day-long protest by students of Ramakunjeshwara First Grade College in Puttur taluk seeking permission to wear 'hijab' in classrooms petered out on Monday, with many attending classes.
Out of the original 107 protesting students, all but 15 boys attended classes. A student said that those who returned were made to sign an agreement that said that headscarf was banned in the college, and that students would not participate in protests against the college in future.
The student added that although loss of attendance and the impending examinations might have played a role in the surrender of their demands, what really pushed some to return was the filing of cases against seven protesting students on Saturday.
This follows a complaint by principal Vasanth Rao, after around 80 students, joined by students from nearby colleges, staged a protest under the aegis of University Sarva College Sangha on Friday.
“It is a blackmail tactic. They've filed false charges, and then said they'll take it back only if we come back,” said the student, who didn't sign the agreement form.
Claiming that the students created an atmosphere of “tension” and “fear”, a member of the college management said they were forced to file cases.
“We don't want to aggravate the situation. If the students come back, we will withdraw the cases,” he said.
He added that students would not get attendance for the classes they missed and there was no need for special classes as the examination on July 25 were “only” a unit test.
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