Students roar in protest against homestay attack

Mangalore, July 30: Raged by the attack on young boys and girls at a birthday party being held at a Padil homestay by saffron activists, the Mangalorean student community expressed its solidarity with the victims and observed an all-college bundh on Monday.

St. Aloysius College, St. Agnes College, Besant Women's College, Rosario College, Sharada College, Canara College, Badriya College and other colleges in the city, observed bundh in protest of the assault on the students at Padil.

Students and staff gathered for a protest meet at St Aloysius College campus. Addressing the gathering Fr Francis Almeida, Vice Principal of the College, called for a ban on the Hindu Jagarana Vedike and media for being a party to the incident. The Aloysian community condemns the attacks he said, adding that the district administration is scared of widespread protests from the people of Mangalore and hence has enforced prohibitory orders.

Fr Swebert D'Silva, Principal of the College, said that people of Mangalore must ensure that incidents of such are not repeated in the city.

Suman, Secretary of the Women's Forum of the College said that the assaulters have no right to say they are custodians of culture and protectors of their 'sisters'. “Which brother would want to molest his sister in public in front of cameras and manhandle her?” she asked, lamenting that India is not independent in the true sense of the term. The activists have no right to interfere in the lives of youth, she said, asking them and others who defend their actions to create a country of their own where they could follow their own principles.

Sheetal, a journalism student of the College, criticized the role played by a section of the media in letting the incident happen.

Another student who addressed the gathering wearing a pink shawl showed her solidarity for one of the girl victims, who was dressed in pink on the day of the assault. “This is my way of telling her that she is not alone. I am with her”, she said.

Donnet D'Souza, Sports Coordinator of the College, Sylvia Rego, Department of English, and other staff of the College also spoke.

The students were asked to write letters addressed to the Deputy Commissioner in large numbers to show their condemnation of the assault.

At St Agnes College too, students got together in protest. Gurudutt Kamath and Vijay Kumar, the two male student victims who were at the receiving end of the assault at the Padil homestay addressed the students. Mr. Kamath, revealing the background of the incident to the gathering said that about 14-15 of his friends had got together to celebrate the birthday of Mr. Kumar. “It was not a rave party and there were no drugs. The Deputy Commissioner has held an inspection himself and confirmed it. We had not played loud music too. It was just some light music that we were playing from our laptop. We were busy with cake-cutting, photo sessions and video sessions when about 40-50 people barged into the house and started thrashing us. If they are protectors of culture and are really cultured, they should have enquired about the whole thing in a civilized manner. They even stole our gold chains worth Rs. 2 lakh”, he said. Mr. Kamath urged the student community to raise their voice against the attacks in unision and use the social networking media to the fullest to create awareness among the masses.

'Girl victims must come out and condemn'

Speaking to mediapersons at the sidelines of the protest, Gurudutt Kamath said that he and his other friends have not been able to get in touch with the female victims of the assault. “We have been trying to enquire about them but have not been able to get in touch with them. They are not willing to speak. Yes it is their decision after all and they have their own concerns but we feel they must come out as there is nothing to be scared of”, he said.

Mr. Kamath said that the girls are regular visitors to his house and are not of bad character. “They eat at our house and frequently visit our house. My mother knew them well which is why she chose to come out and say it openly before the media defending them”, he said.

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