Hostels lacking food and safety, students dying from snakebites and female students being made to undergo pregnancy tests to prove their fitness- these were some of the issues raised by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in his letter written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Gandhi has urged Fadnavis to meet tribal students who have undertaken a hunger strike agitation and solve their problems.
Rahul wrote that tribal students have launched a hunger strike agitation for more than ten days, demanding a solution to their problems. In Pune, during 'Chhatron Ki Goonj', they told me about rules that strip them of their dignity and shut off their path to education.
“Many Adivasi students come from remote villages and depend on government hostels to stay in the cities; a new rule bars anyone over 30 from those hostels, excluding many who are still completing their studies or are preparing for exams,” wrote Gandhi.
The letter further pointed out, “hostels are unsafe, and lack food, sanitation and medical care; students have suffered injuries and deaths including from snake bites. Facilities for women are worse still… I was shocked to learn that female students returning after extended absence must undergo pregnancy test and a range of other medical tests to prove their fitness. It is a humiliation that presumes them guilty until they prove otherwise. The rule is an attack on their dignity and humanity,” wrote Rahul in his letter.
He pointed out that the students were not asking for charity and were demanding what is theirs by right. They should not have to risk their health for their government to listen. “I therefore request you to personally meet representatives of these Adivasi students, hear them and resolve their issues immediately,” said Rahul in his letter, which had attached a memorandum of tribal students they had submitted to Rahul Gandhi.
