Students on the Jadavpur campus during the stand-off with the authorities. Picture by Amit Datta

Prospects of a solution to the stand-off between students and the authorities at Jadavpur University (JU) appeared to be receding on Friday, with the faculty of the engineering and technology students? union (Fetsu), spearheading the over two-month-long students? agitation, refusing to tender an apology for its involvement in violence on campus in September 2003.

Manoj Mitra, dean of the engineering and technology faculty and also chairman of the five-member inquiry committee, said the Fetsu on Friday ?backtracked? from a proposal that was mutually agreed upon by the students and the inquiry team at their last meeting on Wednesday. According to him, the students had agreed to apologise when the inquiry team had met them on Wednesday. The team gave them its word that the authorities would withdraw the suspension order on five students.

?Our earlier meetings were very positive, and we were almost close to a solution on Wednesday. It is unfortunate that the students did not keep their word and once again let us down by backtracking from the agreement. We expect a more positive approach from the students,? Mitra said.

He said the inquiry team has already held several rounds of talks with the students. ?They must remember that, at this stage, they should not create a situation which can spoil the ground created by the earlier discussions,? Mitra stressed.

The students, however, said that under no circumstance would they apologise. ?The question of apologising does not arise after the June 10 incident,? Amit Chakraborty, Fetsu general secretary, said. ?How can the authorities make such a demand?? he asked. ?It seems the responsibility of bringing back normality on the campus lies only with the students. Our 2003 movement was for a genuine cause,? he said.

Moreover, the students argued that they had apologised immediately after the 2003 incident, when some teachers and officers had charged that the protesters had overstepped their limits.

?Why did they set up the Amit Sen inquiry committee then even though we were willing to apologise?? the students said. The authorities took the decision to suspend the five students last month on the basis of the Amit Sen inquiry committee report.