Hyderabad: Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Dr BR Ambedkar is the name every political party tries to own. He stood all odds to give us the Constitution of India, which is the only weapon the marginalised and oppressed have to safeguard their rights. Today, the only educational institution named after him in Hyderabad apart from the secretariat, faces the threat of becoming a second fiddle in Telangana.
The BRAOU campus in Hyderabad which was established on a hilly area at a scenic location called ‘Secret Lake’, now sees land slipping away from underneath its feet, acre-by-acre, to facilitate the construction of the new campus of Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture Fine Arts University (JNAFAU), presently located at Masab Tank.
Risk of losing 10 acres
The university risks losing another 10 acres out of its 53-acre-land, after losing significant area for accommodating TSTS and We-Hub. After 5 acres got submerged in the lake due to the cable-stayed bridge constructed on it, 3-4 acres were given to Telangana State Technology Services Ltd (TSTS), now (TGTS ) in the previous government, the area of BRAOU has shrunk to 33-34 acres presently.
A part of TSTS was also used to construct the We-Hub, aimed at creating women entrepreneurs by incubating their startups during the previous government. TSTS/TGTS has been well-known for imparting education to children during the COVID-19 pandemic in online mode.
“Initially TSTS promised BRAOU that there would be a few channels from its network given to us, as open universities depend on the audio-video component. But it didn’t happen,” says Professor Pallavi Kabde, HOD, department of public administration, who has been spearheading the movement against the alienation of BRAOU’s land.
After the area which may come under the buffer zone of Durgam Cheruvu, BRAOU could fall under 30 acres, which is the Union Grant Commission’s (UGC) minimum requirement for establishing a private university.
The entire teaching and non-teaching faculty, alumni, present students and the civil society have been protesting during the lunch hour for the past 71 days, against the state government for issuing a letter for allotting 10 acres to JNAFAU.
The retired professors remember the times when there was neither electricity on campus nor a mode of transport to reach there, as it used to be highly inaccessible to a newcomer.
Dr Pallavi tells Siasat.com that it is a misconception that students don’t frequent the campus. All the practicals are held on campus, and there is a gross enrollment of over 1 lakh students every year.
It is worth noting that 1298 prison inmates and 4918 persons with disabilities have been enrolled in BRAOU between 2021 and 2023. Most of those teaching in Gurukuls have been alumni of BRAOU.
Dr Pallavi tells Siasat.com that there have been proposals sent to the state government for the establishment of the Centre for Online Learning, for which infrastructure needs to be created.
No grants from govt since 2014
There have been no grants from the state government since 2014, and the university has mostly been self-funded, and presently in deficit, according to her. The permanent faculty strength too has been reduced from 70-80 in 2016, to just 17 now. There have been no regular appointments for over a decade.
A major problem the university has been facing is conducting exams twice a year, in its study circles located in degree colleges. The two institutions sharing the same premises for holding the exams have become cumbersome, the reason why BRAOU has been requesting the state government to build a new examination centre, but to no avail.
“In the future, we have to expand,” she asserts, pointing towards Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay University (a private one), in Gujarat, which has a sprawling 100-acre campus, and is still expanding.
She also gives examples of Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University in Nashik, which is in 400-plus acres of land.
“Certificate courses for farmers and artisans are also offered there. There is even a Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) inside its campus. People are going for more certificate courses, as they get to learn while they earn,” she notes.
New programs like library sciences, psychology and journalism have recently been introduced in BRAOU, for which practicals need to be planned, and labs and studios need to be constructed.
JNAFAU asked for a separate entry and exit, which would slice away a chunk of BRAOU’s land.
Dr Pallavi questions why the state government couldn’t find alternative land for JNAFAU when it could allot 100 acres to Sri Potti Sriramulu Telugu University in Nizampet, and when there is vast land available inside the JNTU campus.
CM’s security camping at TGTS campus
For the past several months Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s security personnel have been camping at TGTS’ campus, cooking food and taking it for the rest of the security personnel stationed at the chief minister’s residence in Jubilee Hills.
Chief minister A Revanth Reddy has spent years inside JNAFAU’s hostel with his friends who have established themselves well in the art industry. Sources tell Siasat.com that his contemporaries have been pushing for JNAFAU to be set up inside BRAOU’s land at Durgam Cheruvu.
The democratic movement against giving away that land by BRAOU teaching and non-teaching faculty and students is growing with Dalit associations and intellectuals have extended their support to it.
The protesters have rejected the idea of giving away their university’s land for any other purpose anymore.
