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* Home * News * Occupy UGC protest turns violent, students injured in lathi-charge by police THE STUDENTS AND ACTIVISTS WERE MARCHING TOWARDS THE PARLIAMENT ON WEDNESDAY TO PROTEST AGAINST
THE GOVERNMENT'S REPORTED PLANS TO CUT THE NON-NET FELLOWSHIPS AND RESEARCH FUNDING OFFERED BY THE UNIVERSITY GRANT COMMISSION NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 10: The Occupy UGC protest on
Wednesday turned violent as hundreds of students were lathi-charged by the police who injured them. On the other side police blames that the students were involved in stoning the authorities
present at the bandobast. The students and activists were marching towards the Parliament on Wednesday to protest against the government’s reported plans to cut the non-NET fellowships and
research funding offered by the University Grant Commission. According to reports more than 700 people from Delhi and around the country has assembled in the capital in support of those who
are protesting at the UGC office for last 45 days. Report suggest they were stopped by the authorities midway and around 150 students were detained by the police after they protested. READ
ALSO: (NON-NET FELLOWSHIP ROW: MPHIL, PHD STUDENTS OCCUPY UGC; DELHI POLICE MAINTAINS ‘LAW AND ORDER’ WITH LATHIS) Tear gas shells and water cannons were also used to disperse the crowd.
Students from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, Allahabad University, Haryana University and Aligarh University were the students being detained by the cops. One of the
protester, Sunny Kumar said, “We have been sitting on protest since 45 days but government has neither tried to have a conversation with us nor they have paid any heed to our demands. We are
dispersed from here every now and then by police and now when we tried to march to the Parliament we were beaten up by police”. Praveen, a protester from JNU alleged, “Many of us were
beaten by police and injured despite our attempts to peacefully conduct a march”. A senior police official was quoted saying that, “Students started pelting stones at police deployed there
following which we had use water canons and tear gas shells”. In October UGC had resolved to discontinue to scheme of non-National Eligibility Test (NET) fellowship, which is provided to
students undertaking research in Central universities across India. But after the protest the HRD had last week had appointed a five-member panel to review the research grants offered by
UGC. The scheme is in place for providing financial assistance to students undertaking MPhil and PhD. They are provided Rs 5,000 and Rs 8,000 per month respectively. However, students have
rejected the government’s statement and are demanding that the review criterion be changed and the fellowship amount increased. Meanwhile, scores of students and teachers from various
varsities are camping at Jantar Mantar here in protest against proposed negotiations on higher education at the forthcoming WTO conference in Nairobi. The eight-day long All-India Resistance
Camp began here yesterday after the agitating students and teachers marched to Jantar Mantar from the venue of “Occupy UGC” protest. The students and teachers are of the view that if India
commits its higher education to World Trade Organisation (WTO) during a meeting starting in Nairobi on December 15, education will become a tradable commodity. The protesters were yesterday
joined by social activists Medha Patkar, Yogendar Yadav, Kavita Krishnan, Tanika Sarkar and Harbans Mukhia among others, who raised their concerns over alleged fund-cuts and “sell out of
education”. ALSO READ: