Students’ organisations take out marches to NIT-C against Shaija Andavan’s appointment

KSU activists, who took out a march to the NIT-C against the appointment of Shaija Andavan as Dean, being taken into custody by the police on Thursday (February 27, 2025).  
| Photo Credit: K. Ragesh

Students’ organisations took out marches to the National Institute of Technology-Calicut (NIT-C) at Chathamangalam on Thursday in protest against the recent appointment of Shaija Andavan, Professor, Mechanical Engineering, as the Dean (Planning and Development). Ms. Andavan’s social media comment praising Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Vinayak Godse had kicked up a row last year.

The march by the Kerala Students Union (KSU) in the afternoon led to some tense moments after its activists entered into heated arguments with the police. The protest demonstration was stopped at the entrance of the institute by erecting barricades. The activists later alleged that they were brutally beaten up by the police, who retorted that some of the student leaders had hurled abuse at them.

KSU functionaries said that V.T. Sooraj, Kozhikode district president, and Sanooj Kuruvattur, State general secretary, were among those who were assaulted by the police. They claimed that the protesters were dragged on the road and bundled into a police vehicle. M.K. Raghavan, Kozhikode MP, thereafter reached the Kunnamangalam police station, where they were lodged.

Though Mr. Raghavan demanded that the injured workers be shifted to a hospital, the police reportedly said that they were awaiting instructions from the higher authorities. Later, Mr. Raghavan and National Students Union of India general secretary K.M. Abhijith staged a sit-in protest outside the police station. Following this, the KSU activists were released on bail. They sought medical treatment at a private hospital.

The Students Federation of India activists also took out a march to the institute, which was also stopped at the entrance of the institute by the police.

Meanwhile, Mr. Raghavan wrote to Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister for Education, demanding that Ms. Andavan’s appointment be cancelled. He claimed that Ms. Andavan was out on bail now in a police case registered against for her social media comments praising Godse. Mr. Raghavan also highlighted the allegations that she had been elevated to the new post bypassing other senior faculty members. He claimed that promoting such a person violating seniority guidelines in a reputed institute of higher education run by the Centre would send a wrong message to society.