Ground report: Racially slighted, KIIT’s Nepali students dread return to campus

KIIT has been in the eye of a massive controversy following allegations of violent eviction of around 1,000 Nepali students in the wake of protests over the alleged suicide of Prakriti Lamsal, a 20-year-old computer science student, at the institute on February 16. Prakriti’s family has alleged that she was being harassed by Advik Shrivastava, a 21-year-old B.Tech student at KIIT, and a resident of Uttar Pradesh. Advik has been arrested since.

Vikas was one of the hundreds of Nepali students at the institute who on February 16 sat on a night-long protest following Prakriti’s death, demanding a fair probe.

Also read: Bhubaneswar: B.Tech student from Nepal found dead in hostel, tension in campus

The ‘assault’

He says on February 17 morning, Nepali students had refused to heed founder Achyuta Samanta's request to leave and come back to the campus on February 19. Suspicious that the management would tamper with evidence in the 'suicide', they had insisted to stay back till the forensic team arrived.

“But when we reached our hostels at around 8 am and were preparing to take rest, we received a message from the administration asking us to vacate hostels and leave the institute with immediate effect,” Vikas says.

He recalled how the next few minutes were the most terrifying moments of his life. “We have three hostels for international students. At least 50 people including the dean, security personnel, officials from the International Relations Office, bouncers and local goons barged into our hostel and started looking for Nepali students.”

Vikas said seven to eight of the intruders began a sweep of the hostel, starting from the ground floor. “They went from room to room looking for Nepali students and pounded on the doors. They broke down doors if students didn’t open them. They asked us our identities and started beating us once we said we were Nepalis. They snatched our phones and deleted all videos of the protests, or any evidence related to the case. They even identified administrators of WhatsApp groups and mercilessly beat them up,” he says.

‘Nikal gaya protest, aur chahiye justice?’

Vikas alleged that the hostel’s warden, who was supposed to protect them, was helping the assaulters identify Nepalis.

“‘Nikal gaya protest, aur chahiye justice? (done with your protest, want more justice?)’ was what we were told as we were dragged out of our rooms and shoved into buses in whatever condition we were in,” he says.

Also read: India appeals for calm after KIIT suicide sparks protests by Nepalis

Many students have alleged that the varsity left them at railway stations in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khurda and Puri so that they don’t congregate. “We neither had food nor tickets to board trains for home. Many of us also didn’t have footwear as we were dropped off at the Cuttack Railway Station,” Vikas says.

Rahul*, an outstation student who had participated in the agitation on February 16 and 17, says many students like him as well as locals, who had fled to the Law Campus to escape alleged assault by security guards at the protest site, reached only to see a bigger assault on Nepalis there.

“Some of us were beaten up along with the foreign students. That day the institute locked up students in all hostels till 8 pm citing security reasons so that we can’t protest or help the Nepali students,” he says.

Arrests, interventions provide no succour

Ever since Nepalese Prime Minister KP Singh Oli used diplomatic channels to raise the issue with the Indian government, a series of actions has been taken – five people were arrested for the forceful eviction of students, while two officials who used racist slurs against Nepal in a viral video have issued public apologies. Both KIIT and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi have requested evicted students to return to the campus. The Odisha government has also formed a fact-finding committee to probe the suicide and investigate the eviction of protesting students.

None of the measures, however, has been any consolation to the hurt and shocked Nepali students. A handful of those who have returned and are staging a silent protest on varsity campus are demanding a fair investigation into Prakruti’s death, a written assurance from the college that no punitive action will be taken against them and permanent termination and legal action against those involved in the assault on students on February 17 among other demands.

Also read: Nepal PM Oli steps in after KIIT students allege they were evicted from campus

On Wednesday (February 19), Chief Minister Majhi assured visiting officials from the Nepal embassy that justice will be served in Prakriti’s case. In a damage control move on the same day, KIIT announced a scholarship in memory of Prakriti.

According to the AISHE 2021-22 report, of the 46,878 international students enrolled in India, Nepal constituted the lion’s share (28 per cent) followed by Afghanistan (6.7 per cent), the US (6.2 per cent), Bangladesh (5.6 per cent), UAE (4.9 per cent) and Bhutan (3.3 per cent).

As many as 2,362 international students were enrolled in Odisha institutions that year, the report says.

Students dread return

Those like Vikas, who have left India, are in trauma from the assault and do not want to return.

“All the apologies are only crocodile tears. The management is still threatening students that their careers will end if they participate in the protests,” says Rahul.

“In a meeting with protesting students on February 18, authorities openly threatened them and said they would not get placements,” says Sanghamitra Jena, national vice president of All India Students’ Federation (AISF).

Jena has been staging a silent protest with Nepali students on the university campus, holding placards reading #JusticeforPrakruti, #PunishAdvik, #SayNoToGoons and ShameOnYouAdvik.

Vikash says students who have returned to campus have been asked to sign undertakings, promising not to get involved in protests.

‘Attempt to suppress case’

“There is a covert attempt to suppress the case. The security guards who were arrested yesterday have got bail. This shows a lack of government interest to pursue the case,” says Soumya Ranjan Samal, chairman of Utkal Students Association.

Also read: Nepali student’s father slams KIIT over daughter's 'suicide'

“These students spend lakhs of rupees to study here but get treated like this. Because of institutes like KIIT, Odisha’s image is suffering. Other countries will think twice before sending their students here. Even though several Odias and local organisations are showing solidarity with the Nepali students, what the world is seeing is Odisha abusing them,” he adds.

Why were Nepali students targeted?

Amid the melee, a question that takes precedence is if the same treatment would have been meted out to other international students.

While racist comments on Nepal’s “penury” made by two women KIIT officials have confirmed the bias, students say there is always a difference in treatment.

Vikas especially remembers how he had to make rounds of offices for an entire semester just to change his hostel room. “Now in hindsight, I feel that was a racist response. They wouldn’t have treated students from Syria, Africa and Oman this way.”

“In fact, our International Relations Office never took us seriously. Prakruti di complained to IRA twice that she was being harassed by Advik, but authorities only gave him a warning and left it at that,” he says.

‘Hegemonic sentiment’

Terming the whole episode a “very irresponsible handling of a situation” Kedar Mishra, a writer and journalist says, “there should have been sensitivity on part of authorities.”

“It is a manifestation of male-centric, hegemonic sentiment that we are the best and that countries like Nepal or Pakistan are nothing compared to us,” he says.

Also read: Kerala: Dumbbells hung from private parts of freshers; ragging at nursing college

Stating that there is an increased need for orientation among staff members in dealing with problem like this, Mishra says they need to know how to be polite and follow international protocol.

“KIIT has a peculiar orientation to revere Achyuta Samanta. The management is not doing charity, it has huge business interests in organisations like KIIT. That’s why they must remember that we are not in a monarchy and Achyuta Samanta is not God,” he adds.

(*names have been changed to protect identities)