There seems no end to the end of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) students' strike, which has been on for over 100 days with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) calling off a meeting with the FTII Students' Association (FSA), which was scheduled on Wednesday.
The I&B ministry had on Monday sent a letter to the FSA, asking them to call off the strike and recommend a date for a meeting in order to resolve the ongoing issues.
"We were expecting them to come for the meeting today, but yesterday evening we were informed by FSA president that the ministry won't come for the meeting unless the strike is called off," FTII student Shini JK told IBTimes India over the phone.
In light of the strike entering its 104th day, the students had suggested 23 September for the meeting. However, the FTII director on Tuesday evening informed the students that the meeting was cancelled.
Shini said that the joint secretary of I&B ministry informed the FTII director about the cancellation of the meeting, who conveyed the message to FSA president Harishankar Nachimuthu.
The office of I&B ministry confirmed the meeting schedule, but declined to comment further.
Students have not been allowing classes since 12 June, protesting the appointment of actor-turned-BJP member Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman. They claim that Chauhan's experience and industry credentials are not enough for such a premier position.
A similar meeting was to take place on 3 July between I&B Minister Arun Jaitley and FSA, but it was cancelled after he insisted on ending the strike first.
Many students have been on a relay hunger strike as well since 10 September, while one student is fasting for 13 days.
Earlier this month, a three-member committee headed by Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI) SM Khan, set up by the I&B ministry, had paid a visit to the institute in order to assess the situation.
The Khan committee later submitted a report to the ministry, blaming the strike for the delay in the graduation of 2008 batch.
