AISF members sit on a hunger strike on the AN College premises in Patna on Tuesday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Patna, Feb. 14: Five AN College scholars staged a hunger strike on the campus in protest against the alleged autocratic attitude of the principal even as most of their friends were busy celebrating Valentine’s Day and exchanging gifts with their loved ones.

The protesters — first-year MA labour and social welfare student Piyush Ranjan Jha, sociology first-year MA student Aakash Gaurav, mathematics MSc first-year student Nikhil Kumar, his senior by a year Davendra Kumar, and his classmate Tausif Raza, started the strike last morning under the banner of All India Students’ Federation (AISF).

They demanded that college authorities allow students’ bodies to host seminars on the campus, election for students’ union and return of extra fees allegedly taken from postgraduate student at the time of admission in October last year.

The students on strike claimed that they wanted to improve the academic atmosphere of the college and would continue their protest till the authorities accepted their demands.

Some of their fellow students expressed solidarity with their cause and sat on strike with them. Many others, however, were busy enjoying themselves and exchanging gifts.

Ranjan told The Telegraph: “Some of our friends are enjoying themselves and spending time with their partners, but we have more important things in mind. We want to improve the academic atmosphere of the college.”

He added that while celebrating the day of love, youths must remember that students were eve-teased every alternate day on the college campus. “The SK Puri police station is right beside the campus, but students are harassed by outsiders every other day. Neither the police nor the college administration is concerned about the safety of the students.”

Other students of the college claimed that they supported the demands of the protesters, but it was not feasible for all of them to sit on strike.

Ujjwal Kumar, an undergraduate student, said: “We support our friends who are staging the hunger strike but it is not possible for everyone to join them”

Vishwajit Kumar, an AISF member, said: “We have been on strike for more than 24 hours. But till now, no assurance has reached from college administration. Moreover the college authorities did not even provide us with blankets or quilts. So, we had to spend a night in the open shivering.”

The prospect of more such nights, however, would not deter them, he added.

The college administration, on the other hand, passed a resolution on Monday that the students’ organisation would not be allowed to host seminars on the campus.

AN College principal Haridwar Singh told The Telegraph: “The college administration cannot provide the campus to students’ organisations to conduct seminars. If we allow this once, other organisations will also make similar demands. That would only worsen the academic atmosphere of the college.”