FTII row: Two ex-students return national awards

Students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) called off their 139-day strike on Wednesday, after a relentless struggle with the government for appointing Gajendra Chauhan as chairman of the acclaimed institution. However, the agitation will now continue in the artistic expression of the students. 

Meanwhile, former students of the institution and alumni Pratik Vats and Vikram Pawar have decided to return national awards that they had received for their films while studying in the institute. "We are going to return our awards and have written a letter to the President for the same," Vats said. 

"On the 139th day of the strike, we decided to get back to academics, but we continue the protest against the baseless nomination of Gajendra Chauhan. Our protest would be through our films and art. The strike has made us stronger and a new battle begins," the Student Body Association representative said at a press conference. "We took rallies outside the institute, wrote letters to the elected representatives in the monsoon session of parliament, travelled to Delhi to stage our protest and got arrested during the 2008 batch assessment. Even after 8 to 9 meetings with the ministry, we had no answers," he added.

However, disappointed by the attitude of the government to the premium institute of film-making in India, students will resume classes with immediate effect as the result of a collective decision. 

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Also read: Welcome students' decision to call off strike, says Gajendra Chauhan