Strike Stuff

The problem with life - We follow orders. What happens when we dont want to ?

A strike.

The students of Sathyabama (the engineering prison I study in) 'struck' with full force and vengeance on March 1st 2006. It will always be a historic day in the annals of Tamil Nadu engineering history. Then they 'struck' again a few days later, burning a small hut in the process. Then they 'struck' again with a fire in one of the makeshift-auditoriums, which has remained make-shift for more than 5 years. And then with growing monotony, they 'struck' again by burning the hostel's dome. It was fun the first time. But it slowly became boring and repetitive. And the students realised they were running out of things to burn.

A good capture of the arsonous protests.










It was an experience in its own way. We learnt actual mob behaviour, never thinking for once that we were a part of the mob. But throughout the strike, most of us still did not understand the purpose of the strike. Yet, we 'struck'.

Our exams were scheduled, then rescheduled, then rescheduled again. Some students started to dramatise the strike by saying our futures were at stake and our degrees might not be valid. Yet students continued to pour out as final year students and pour in as freshers. Did they understand what was going on ?

We continue to live as sathyabama students and live through the rules of it. The rules have now been 'relaxed' by management in fear of another strike occuring. [The squad was chased by students with sticks - this mortal fear will always be etched in the hearts of these men who are named 'the squad' - their job, to enforce the rules doled out by the Sathyabama management. No man will forget the feeling of being chased by a more than two hundred angry students with sticks. We saw the 'squad' run for their lives.]

Various reasons for the ugly strike propped up, such as AICTE recognition, Strict rules and maybe others as well. Management failed to deal with the strike properly. Students failed to communicate their reasons and demands properly. Result - strike turns ugly.

We now live in the peaceful ages, like in the aftermath of a few cold and world wars. We are trying to re-establish ourselves as responsible students. Will that be possible ? An interesting question.

{ "May you live in interesting times." - An Old Chinese Proverb.}

We jumped to fame with this photograph.

Was there a need for a strike ?

Well, maybe, yes. It showed we were certainly capable, and the situation almost warranted one. But was such brute force necessary ?

A question to the masses and as usual- unanswerable.

[An insight into the sudden violence by the strike in Sathayabama Deemed University]
-- Abhishek Ranganathan

{ "Sathyabama is Sathyabama. Great name." - A faculty trying to reassure worried students }