FTII students to meet officials of I&B Ministry to break logjam

The agitating students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) are going to meet officials of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in Mumbai on Tuesday to discuss future course of action.

The students on Sunday had called off their 18-day-long hunger strike in response to the government's communication inviting them for a dialogue to resolve their demands. The students are protesting against the appointment of actor Gajendra Chauhan as the FTII Chairman. Ranjit Nair of FTII Students' Association (FSA) said that the 'hunger strike' has been being called off to facilitate talks with the government, following which the Information and Broadcasting Ministry Joint Secretary replied and a meeting was fixed in Mumbai.

Nair, however, clarified that although the hunger strike has been withdrawn, but the general strike that started on June 12 with a boycott of classes will continue till the issues raised by them are resolved during the proposed talks. The ministry agreed to hold Tuesday's meeting at Films Division in Mumbai after students insisted that the venue would be Pune or Mumbai and not New Delhi.

The proposed meeting was made possible by film makers Raj Kumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who arbitrated with the government and the students.