Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Part 2 - FTII Students Agitation - Nov. 16
Edited By: Sandra & Dorian
This is in continuation of the previously uploaded video.
More clips coming soon of Nov. 18 protest and gherao of the Joint Secretary, I & B ministry, India.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Support Letter from an Organization Facing Similar Issues
To all our dear friends in their struggle against the privatization of the Pune Film Institute
Like all of us, Madam Ambika Soni too must surely have noticed many times the word “socialism” inscribed boldly on the very first page of the Indian Constitution, that ultimately made her realize that it falls within her constitutional duties to declare equally boldly that she should begin charity at home. Hence it is her ministerial art and culture, the information and broadcasting, which should at the outset, be transformed into capital goods! It is a pity that the essence of this highly consistent practice of theory on her part towards privatizing the FTII on the ground of profit enhancement cannot be grasped by some of the brightest minds in her own periphery! Incidentally, the fact that Smt. Ambika Soni’s career graph rose remarkably during the memorable Emergency chapter (’75) Indian Democracy as a youth Congress leader is yet to be part of oblivion at least for another handful of her admirers like us! But since the Constitution like the texts on socialism is too ‘old’ a scripture for these ‘modern’ Indian leaders, it is no wonder that with the bursting of the bubble of so called market economy all over the world during the last couple of years, the hatred towards socialistic program, generated among some of these most well-wishers of our society, is also on a similar meteoric rise, and that despite the ghost of socialism continuing to haunt the globe through the frantic efforts of the same well-wishers to try and rescue the bankrupt corporates through steps of nationalization only. This abhorrence of socialism is expressed day in and day out in no uncertain terms by the greatest well-wisher of this land, viz. our own Central Government, out on a warpath in carrying out its project of squeezing wealth out of our country to the imperialist nations i.e. the global well-wishers. How explicitly the government is trying to make us convince its viewpoint becomes amply clear through its flurry of activities incorporating the Delhi Commonwealth Games, the 2G telecommunication, the Adarsh land policy and why not, now the “liberalization” of FTII! The order of tens of crores involved in the last mentioned be it from Reliance or be it from some other benevolent corporate, is yet to be disclosed though.
The country knows that FTII produces film makers, from directors to technicians. A product meant for an audience to the tune of a virtual population of 110 crore, leaving alone its international impact, reaches though a real population amounting to 30 crores at the most, viz. the multiplex audience. This real multiplex audience earns in millions, and includes in its ranks, or to be precise, in its pinnacle, the likes of Sri Mukesh Amabani whose birthday gift to his wife comprises a 245crore luxurious aeroplane. This audience encompasses the CEOs, the Government bureaucrats and all the big shots in various walks of life people having sufficient enough to spend most of their income on luxury, people who can afford the comfort of a multiplex evening every weekend, may be even everyday. The remaining ‘shining India’ on the other hand, cannot spend 21 rupees per day. Film is a super-luxury item for them. Hence like every profit monger in every other businesses, the bollywood producers also opt for cinemas that may be applauded by the real and not this virtual mass, resulting in the creation of the generation of so called smart films of today. Consequently also, it is as much inconsistent for our Government, elected, sponsored by these capitalists to further the cause of such a government controlled institute, where it is obligatory to construct a film syllabus meant for the mass. When the entire film production to distribution is under private hands, they do not want to waste money in mass education of film production, which could have been spent for the ‘poor’ capitalists.
A government requires money and it has to acquire the same through taxes of varied kinds, but primarily through direct taxation. Now, it has time and again been shown that India’s total national income is concentrated in the hands of a few families only. If these people are regularly taxed then the annual amount amounts a proportion that is as large as 6 times the central annual budget deficit. But that is not the way how Madam Soni wants to earn money. Her central government is more comfortable to earning money by closing hospitals and FTII even while there lies an approximate amount of 280 lakh crore rupees belonging to several known & unknown faces of the Indian high stratum, safely deposited in Swiss banks as identified by the Swiss Government itself. This money, if returned back to India, can be used for taxless budgets for 30 years, can ensure 60 crore jobs and can dispose of all our foreign debts as many as 13 times. But on the contrary, the crisis-stricken capitalists are trying to utilize the super-luxury hunt of the 30 crore market of India whether in food, hospitalization, housing , clothing or entertainment & culture. It is a shame that still tour intellectuals & economists term this economy as a market economy, while it is as clear as daylight that this business pattern is the very result of anti-market economy — an economy based on a scanty market comprising of the super-luxury hunting consumer population. This economy cannot survive purely on market forces but rather primarily on government backings & policies. This privatization is a reiteration of the same, where Reliance needs government blessings for a Reliance Film Institute to emerge in Pune.
The fight of the FTII students to oust the privatization policy of Madam Soni while exposing all the bizarre promises, is supported & blessed by the 80 crore market outcasts of this country. Although it is a tragedy that the film-theatre-literature of post-global India has already deserted the mass, not only for its price but also for their subjects, contents & forms, still the people would like to express solidarity to this movement because they have sacrificed a lot for the development of mass culture through decades. They think that your struggle will lead to a struggle which will demand not only government controlled educational film institutes, but also government control on film production & distribution. Your struggle will demand a Bollywood with considerable government sponsorship leading to an alternative cultural struggle, though not alternative in the sense that these films will be mere decorative pieces in the shelves of Madam Soni & Hewitt CEOs.
It is not a sheer incident that the Goa film festival will be inaugurated by our Railway minister Ms Mamata Banerjee. Today she is the most vehement supporter & executor of PPP models, & that too of all things in railways! Rumours are in the air that she will change the Calcutta SRFTI also into a PPP product. The concern lies elsewhere. This subversive clique of Madam Soni & Banerjee together with their stooges will capitalize the very fact that the so called alternative art & culture happens to be very much detested by the general population, & here they propose to introduce a change, which would be brought about by Reliance & company.
Thank you for the struggle which has brought many questions into limelight. Your victory will be encourage all Indians in their struggle against imperialism in the forthcoming days.
Like all of us, Madam Ambika Soni too must surely have noticed many times the word “socialism” inscribed boldly on the very first page of the Indian Constitution, that ultimately made her realize that it falls within her constitutional duties to declare equally boldly that she should begin charity at home. Hence it is her ministerial art and culture, the information and broadcasting, which should at the outset, be transformed into capital goods! It is a pity that the essence of this highly consistent practice of theory on her part towards privatizing the FTII on the ground of profit enhancement cannot be grasped by some of the brightest minds in her own periphery! Incidentally, the fact that Smt. Ambika Soni’s career graph rose remarkably during the memorable Emergency chapter (’75) Indian Democracy as a youth Congress leader is yet to be part of oblivion at least for another handful of her admirers like us! But since the Constitution like the texts on socialism is too ‘old’ a scripture for these ‘modern’ Indian leaders, it is no wonder that with the bursting of the bubble of so called market economy all over the world during the last couple of years, the hatred towards socialistic program, generated among some of these most well-wishers of our society, is also on a similar meteoric rise, and that despite the ghost of socialism continuing to haunt the globe through the frantic efforts of the same well-wishers to try and rescue the bankrupt corporates through steps of nationalization only. This abhorrence of socialism is expressed day in and day out in no uncertain terms by the greatest well-wisher of this land, viz. our own Central Government, out on a warpath in carrying out its project of squeezing wealth out of our country to the imperialist nations i.e. the global well-wishers. How explicitly the government is trying to make us convince its viewpoint becomes amply clear through its flurry of activities incorporating the Delhi Commonwealth Games, the 2G telecommunication, the Adarsh land policy and why not, now the “liberalization” of FTII! The order of tens of crores involved in the last mentioned be it from Reliance or be it from some other benevolent corporate, is yet to be disclosed though.
The country knows that FTII produces film makers, from directors to technicians. A product meant for an audience to the tune of a virtual population of 110 crore, leaving alone its international impact, reaches though a real population amounting to 30 crores at the most, viz. the multiplex audience. This real multiplex audience earns in millions, and includes in its ranks, or to be precise, in its pinnacle, the likes of Sri Mukesh Amabani whose birthday gift to his wife comprises a 245crore luxurious aeroplane. This audience encompasses the CEOs, the Government bureaucrats and all the big shots in various walks of life people having sufficient enough to spend most of their income on luxury, people who can afford the comfort of a multiplex evening every weekend, may be even everyday. The remaining ‘shining India’ on the other hand, cannot spend 21 rupees per day. Film is a super-luxury item for them. Hence like every profit monger in every other businesses, the bollywood producers also opt for cinemas that may be applauded by the real and not this virtual mass, resulting in the creation of the generation of so called smart films of today. Consequently also, it is as much inconsistent for our Government, elected, sponsored by these capitalists to further the cause of such a government controlled institute, where it is obligatory to construct a film syllabus meant for the mass. When the entire film production to distribution is under private hands, they do not want to waste money in mass education of film production, which could have been spent for the ‘poor’ capitalists.
A government requires money and it has to acquire the same through taxes of varied kinds, but primarily through direct taxation. Now, it has time and again been shown that India’s total national income is concentrated in the hands of a few families only. If these people are regularly taxed then the annual amount amounts a proportion that is as large as 6 times the central annual budget deficit. But that is not the way how Madam Soni wants to earn money. Her central government is more comfortable to earning money by closing hospitals and FTII even while there lies an approximate amount of 280 lakh crore rupees belonging to several known & unknown faces of the Indian high stratum, safely deposited in Swiss banks as identified by the Swiss Government itself. This money, if returned back to India, can be used for taxless budgets for 30 years, can ensure 60 crore jobs and can dispose of all our foreign debts as many as 13 times. But on the contrary, the crisis-stricken capitalists are trying to utilize the super-luxury hunt of the 30 crore market of India whether in food, hospitalization, housing , clothing or entertainment & culture. It is a shame that still tour intellectuals & economists term this economy as a market economy, while it is as clear as daylight that this business pattern is the very result of anti-market economy — an economy based on a scanty market comprising of the super-luxury hunting consumer population. This economy cannot survive purely on market forces but rather primarily on government backings & policies. This privatization is a reiteration of the same, where Reliance needs government blessings for a Reliance Film Institute to emerge in Pune.
The fight of the FTII students to oust the privatization policy of Madam Soni while exposing all the bizarre promises, is supported & blessed by the 80 crore market outcasts of this country. Although it is a tragedy that the film-theatre-literature of post-global India has already deserted the mass, not only for its price but also for their subjects, contents & forms, still the people would like to express solidarity to this movement because they have sacrificed a lot for the development of mass culture through decades. They think that your struggle will lead to a struggle which will demand not only government controlled educational film institutes, but also government control on film production & distribution. Your struggle will demand a Bollywood with considerable government sponsorship leading to an alternative cultural struggle, though not alternative in the sense that these films will be mere decorative pieces in the shelves of Madam Soni & Hewitt CEOs.
It is not a sheer incident that the Goa film festival will be inaugurated by our Railway minister Ms Mamata Banerjee. Today she is the most vehement supporter & executor of PPP models, & that too of all things in railways! Rumours are in the air that she will change the Calcutta SRFTI also into a PPP product. The concern lies elsewhere. This subversive clique of Madam Soni & Banerjee together with their stooges will capitalize the very fact that the so called alternative art & culture happens to be very much detested by the general population, & here they propose to introduce a change, which would be brought about by Reliance & company.
Thank you for the struggle which has brought many questions into limelight. Your victory will be encourage all Indians in their struggle against imperialism in the forthcoming days.
Jan Sanskriti Manch Supports FTII Students
JAN SANSKRITI MANCH
LETTER OF SUPPORT TO THE STRUGGLING STUDENTS’ BODY OF FTII
To
The Students’ Body
FTII, Pune Dated- 20 Nov, 2010
Friends,
On behalf of Jan Sanskriti Manch, I fully support your ongoing struggle against governmental efforts towards turning your esteemed institution into an appendage of corporate driven ‘culture industry’ in the name of ‘private-public’ partnership and ‘self reliance’. Your apprehensions are all valid and there is hardly any doubt about the intention of a government which is pricing out the students from not so well-off backgrounds from the institutions of higher learning. The elitisation, privatization and corporatisation of entire higher education is going in full swing under the UPA-II govt. Earlier governments too had tried hard to do so and if they had only moderate success, it was due to the struggles of the students and academic community at large. I congratulate you for the initial success your struggle has secured in rejection of Hewitt report and constitution of D-O-E. Meanwhile, the student body itself may try to bring out an alternative, pro-people, creative report of its own about the up gradation and revitalization of the FTII. I wish you all success and pledge you all support within our means, which is expected of us.
All the best,
Yours
Pranay Krishna
General Secretary, Jan Sanskriti Manch
LETTER OF SUPPORT TO THE STRUGGLING STUDENTS’ BODY OF FTII
To
The Students’ Body
FTII, Pune Dated- 20 Nov, 2010
Friends,
On behalf of Jan Sanskriti Manch, I fully support your ongoing struggle against governmental efforts towards turning your esteemed institution into an appendage of corporate driven ‘culture industry’ in the name of ‘private-public’ partnership and ‘self reliance’. Your apprehensions are all valid and there is hardly any doubt about the intention of a government which is pricing out the students from not so well-off backgrounds from the institutions of higher learning. The elitisation, privatization and corporatisation of entire higher education is going in full swing under the UPA-II govt. Earlier governments too had tried hard to do so and if they had only moderate success, it was due to the struggles of the students and academic community at large. I congratulate you for the initial success your struggle has secured in rejection of Hewitt report and constitution of D-O-E. Meanwhile, the student body itself may try to bring out an alternative, pro-people, creative report of its own about the up gradation and revitalization of the FTII. I wish you all success and pledge you all support within our means, which is expected of us.
All the best,
Yours
Pranay Krishna
General Secretary, Jan Sanskriti Manch
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Amrit Gangar (Film Theorist, Curator and Historian) Writes to the Students of FTII
As I had commented on your petition, PPP does not at all reflect the Nehruvian philosophy of mixed economy. It is in fact a backdoor entry of neoliberalism that will subvert and sabotage the Nehruvian ethos that the ruling party is claiming itself to follow and protect. PPP is based on greed - the capitalist profit-making that has already turned academic institutions into shops. Leave along academic institutions, PPP has not worked even for an obviously revenue earning metro railways - nowhere in the world. Scrap this model or it will be very difficult later to retrieve ourselves from it. It will be an unforgivable fraud on the people of this country.
What E Sreedharan, Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation says should really attract our attention, and that of the ruling party's. I quote from an interview with him - ref. The Idea exchange, the Sunday Indian Express, 21 November 2010. Exceprts:
Quote:
A PPP model has never succeeded anywhere in the world. Some countries had experimente with it, particularly Malaysia. They had two metro systems in Kuala Lumpur by private parties.After five-six years, both the private parties declared bankruptcy and the government had to take voer. Once a metro system is established, you can't wind it up, so when the company wraops up and all the liabilities have to be taken on by the government. In India, we started this in three regions. Mumbai line number one was awarded almost four years ago and today, not even 50 per cent of the work has been completed. They are facing a lot of hurdles in the process, the cost has gone up by at least by 50 per cent. It will take another one and a half to two years for completion. How are they going to make it viable? In Hyderabad, it took them almost three-and-a-half years to get the first concessionaire, Maytas, then it floppoed.
Our PPP modelis for the airport line because on this line we could haev a ticket fare that is almost ten times the normal fare. An air traveller is prepared to pay Rs.150-200 for the journey, otherwise he has to pay Rs.400 by taxi. Even here, we failed the country - this line did not open in time for the Commonwealth Games.
Unquote.
The signal is clear. Leave our academic and training institutions such as the FTII from the PPP model and therefore from greed whose eye is obviously somewhere else; landgrab could be one of them.
People of India need better education and cheaper, which is possible by all means if the elected governments have faith in themselves and them. Every citizen of the country, and particularly the poor, has stake in such academic institutions.
I am sure you have already read the above text.
Amrit Gangar
http://www.pragoti.org/node/2464
This link could be used to read another article he has written for PRAGATI called C3G: Cinema. Culture. Capital. underscore globalization dot com
What E Sreedharan, Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation says should really attract our attention, and that of the ruling party's. I quote from an interview with him - ref. The Idea exchange, the Sunday Indian Express, 21 November 2010. Exceprts:
Quote:
A PPP model has never succeeded anywhere in the world. Some countries had experimente with it, particularly Malaysia. They had two metro systems in Kuala Lumpur by private parties.After five-six years, both the private parties declared bankruptcy and the government had to take voer. Once a metro system is established, you can't wind it up, so when the company wraops up and all the liabilities have to be taken on by the government. In India, we started this in three regions. Mumbai line number one was awarded almost four years ago and today, not even 50 per cent of the work has been completed. They are facing a lot of hurdles in the process, the cost has gone up by at least by 50 per cent. It will take another one and a half to two years for completion. How are they going to make it viable? In Hyderabad, it took them almost three-and-a-half years to get the first concessionaire, Maytas, then it floppoed.
Our PPP modelis for the airport line because on this line we could haev a ticket fare that is almost ten times the normal fare. An air traveller is prepared to pay Rs.150-200 for the journey, otherwise he has to pay Rs.400 by taxi. Even here, we failed the country - this line did not open in time for the Commonwealth Games.
Unquote.
The signal is clear. Leave our academic and training institutions such as the FTII from the PPP model and therefore from greed whose eye is obviously somewhere else; landgrab could be one of them.
People of India need better education and cheaper, which is possible by all means if the elected governments have faith in themselves and them. Every citizen of the country, and particularly the poor, has stake in such academic institutions.
I am sure you have already read the above text.
Amrit Gangar
http://www.pragoti.org/node/2464
This link could be used to read another article he has written for PRAGATI called C3G: Cinema. Culture. Capital. underscore globalization dot com
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Letter by Chandita Mukherjee: "Two newspaper links of interest to those who love the FTII"
Dear Friends
The present students of the FTII must be congratulated and recognised by all of us for having saved the Institute from a major disaster, which was almost a done deed. The students' determination to resist, with the participation of the staff association and some members of the faculty, and support of alumni and other interested people, finally forced the authorities to pay attention and the Detailed Project Proposal (DPR) of Hewitt Associates had to be dropped.
Here are two newspaper links of interest:
a) The report of Thursday's events in the Indian Express Pune edition of Fri 19 Nov 2010.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/ftii-drops-upgrade-report-own-team-to-work-on-new-plan/713142/1
It marks the scrapping of the Hewitt Detailed Project Proposal and points to the government inviting a team of people called the Group of Experts (GOE) to write a new plan for the revitalisation of the Institute.
b) A Report in the Indian Express of today, 20 Nov, confirming the setting up of the National Centre for Excellence for Animation, Gaming and VFX (NCoE) on Institute land at the back of the hill .
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/animation-centre-likely-to-come-up-on-ftii-extension-land/713755/
It says that "a presentation before the minister that should happen any day". A private investor will get excellent land in Pune at no cost because of a Private-Public Partnership. Such privatising of public resources is unacceptable. The land belongs to the FTII and by extension, the Indian public, whose taxes have gone to set up and run the Institute. Today the Institute is overcrowded and run-down, it needs that land for its future expansion.
Plus, if such a privileged institute is set up in the midst of the prevailing near break-down situation at FTII, it will only lead to more conflict. Can't someone influence government to set it up elsewhere? It makes sense to do it in Bangalore or Hyderabad where the industry with which the NCOE has to interact already exists.
The issues are still hot, and as alumni we must keep an eye on further developments.
Chandita Mukherjee
--
http://ftiistudentsbody.blogspot.com
The present students of the FTII must be congratulated and recognised by all of us for having saved the Institute from a major disaster, which was almost a done deed. The students' determination to resist, with the participation of the staff association and some members of the faculty, and support of alumni and other interested people, finally forced the authorities to pay attention and the Detailed Project Proposal (DPR) of Hewitt Associates had to be dropped.
Here are two newspaper links of interest:
a) The report of Thursday's events in the Indian Express Pune edition of Fri 19 Nov 2010.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/ftii-drops-upgrade-report-own-team-to-work-on-new-plan/713142/1
It marks the scrapping of the Hewitt Detailed Project Proposal and points to the government inviting a team of people called the Group of Experts (GOE) to write a new plan for the revitalisation of the Institute.
b) A Report in the Indian Express of today, 20 Nov, confirming the setting up of the National Centre for Excellence for Animation, Gaming and VFX (NCoE) on Institute land at the back of the hill .
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/animation-centre-likely-to-come-up-on-ftii-extension-land/713755/
It says that "a presentation before the minister that should happen any day". A private investor will get excellent land in Pune at no cost because of a Private-Public Partnership. Such privatising of public resources is unacceptable. The land belongs to the FTII and by extension, the Indian public, whose taxes have gone to set up and run the Institute. Today the Institute is overcrowded and run-down, it needs that land for its future expansion.
Plus, if such a privileged institute is set up in the midst of the prevailing near break-down situation at FTII, it will only lead to more conflict. Can't someone influence government to set it up elsewhere? It makes sense to do it in Bangalore or Hyderabad where the industry with which the NCOE has to interact already exists.
The issues are still hot, and as alumni we must keep an eye on further developments.
Chandita Mukherjee
--
http://ftiistudentsbody.blogspot.com
Friday, November 19, 2010
Press Release
Press Release Date: 19th November, 2010
The emergency Governing Council(GC) unanimously rejected the Hewitt report and announced that the DPR will be prepared by FTII by a Group of Experts (GOE , popularly regarded as Nair Committee ) headed by Mr. PK Nair (founder NFAI) with a stated vision of “Revitalising and upgrading FTII”.
The student community has been vociferously protesting against the Hewitt report, which intended to remodel FTII on the lines of ‘Public-Private-Partnership’ and the Planning Commission’s policy to turn the Institute “self reliant and revenue generating”.
“We have found the report inadequate and decided to terminate it. Our purpose is not to commercialise the Institute but to provide inclusive education to students. A detailed report will be prepared by a new team of experts in three months. The focus of the report will be to revitalise and upgrade FTII on the lines of the vision of FTII”, said Shri U.R. Ananthamurthy, Chairman FTII.
The GOE is headed by Mr. PK Nair, with Kundan Shah, Chandita Mukherjee, Shaji Karun, Nachiket Patwardhan, one faculty representative (to be appointed), staff representative K Jagdeeswaran, and student representative Samarth Dixit as its key members. Co-opted members are Saeed Mirza, Shama Zaidi, Jabeen Merchant, and Hansa Thapliyal. The ‘GOE’ is empowered to co-opt more experts if required. Administrative Officer of FTII has been appointed by the Governing Council as the coordinator of the GOE .
The GC also promised that that the concern about Planning Commission’s plan of a ‘revenue generating’ Institute will be aptly communicated to the I & B Ministry by the members of the GC. It was also mentioned that a new batch would not be admitted till the pressing issues of inadequate infrastructure are satisfactorily resolved.
However, widespread apprehensions remain as the Joint-Secretary Films, Mr. DP Reddy refused to address the students and to clarify the I&B Ministry’s stand on its vision for FTII. He also refused to answer all the questions related to the arbitrary allocation of FTII land to a proposed Gaming Institute which has vested private interests. When students raised this issue in the Governing Council Meet they were asked to leave along with the Official minute taker. Hence , there is no official record of the meeting which carried on for an hour.
Further, the GC employed the nomenclature of a Group of Experts and shied away from giving an independent stature of a ‘ Committee’ to this group of experts headed by Mr PK Nair. There is a real danger of the GC undermining the final recommendations of the DPR and the Ministry of I&B may exercise the option of rejecting it.
“ We are glad that the Chairman has supported our demands and the Hewitt report has been rejected. However, we are still apprehensive that the decisions taken here will not be approved by the Ministry in Delhi, and they will continue to push their policy of privatisation,” said Samarth Dixit, President Student’s Association.
Student’s Association – FTII
E-mail: ftiistudentsbody@gmail.com
Website: ftiistudentsbody.blogspot.com
The emergency Governing Council(GC) unanimously rejected the Hewitt report and announced that the DPR will be prepared by FTII by a Group of Experts (GOE , popularly regarded as Nair Committee ) headed by Mr. PK Nair (founder NFAI) with a stated vision of “Revitalising and upgrading FTII”.
The student community has been vociferously protesting against the Hewitt report, which intended to remodel FTII on the lines of ‘Public-Private-Partnership’ and the Planning Commission’s policy to turn the Institute “self reliant and revenue generating”.
“We have found the report inadequate and decided to terminate it. Our purpose is not to commercialise the Institute but to provide inclusive education to students. A detailed report will be prepared by a new team of experts in three months. The focus of the report will be to revitalise and upgrade FTII on the lines of the vision of FTII”, said Shri U.R. Ananthamurthy, Chairman FTII.
The GOE is headed by Mr. PK Nair, with Kundan Shah, Chandita Mukherjee, Shaji Karun, Nachiket Patwardhan, one faculty representative (to be appointed), staff representative K Jagdeeswaran, and student representative Samarth Dixit as its key members. Co-opted members are Saeed Mirza, Shama Zaidi, Jabeen Merchant, and Hansa Thapliyal. The ‘GOE’ is empowered to co-opt more experts if required. Administrative Officer of FTII has been appointed by the Governing Council as the coordinator of the GOE .
The GC also promised that that the concern about Planning Commission’s plan of a ‘revenue generating’ Institute will be aptly communicated to the I & B Ministry by the members of the GC. It was also mentioned that a new batch would not be admitted till the pressing issues of inadequate infrastructure are satisfactorily resolved.
However, widespread apprehensions remain as the Joint-Secretary Films, Mr. DP Reddy refused to address the students and to clarify the I&B Ministry’s stand on its vision for FTII. He also refused to answer all the questions related to the arbitrary allocation of FTII land to a proposed Gaming Institute which has vested private interests. When students raised this issue in the Governing Council Meet they were asked to leave along with the Official minute taker. Hence , there is no official record of the meeting which carried on for an hour.
Further, the GC employed the nomenclature of a Group of Experts and shied away from giving an independent stature of a ‘ Committee’ to this group of experts headed by Mr PK Nair. There is a real danger of the GC undermining the final recommendations of the DPR and the Ministry of I&B may exercise the option of rejecting it.
“ We are glad that the Chairman has supported our demands and the Hewitt report has been rejected. However, we are still apprehensive that the decisions taken here will not be approved by the Ministry in Delhi, and they will continue to push their policy of privatisation,” said Samarth Dixit, President Student’s Association.
Student’s Association – FTII
E-mail: ftiistudentsbody@gmail.com
Website: ftiistudentsbody.blogspot.com
Articles in the Papers, about our Protest and the recent developments.
Report by DNA
FTII Rejects the DPR by Hewitt
Report by Sakaal Times
(Click on the links to read the detailed reports)
FTII Rejects the DPR by Hewitt
Report by Sakaal Times
(Click on the links to read the detailed reports)
If you support us all you have to do is cut and paste this text and Forward to all the people you know!
Dear All,
This is an urgent plea for help and support to save The Film and Television Institute of India.
Under the neo-liberal policies of the present government, the institute is in grave danger of being re-structured as a public private partnership. By trying to make FTII ‘self-reliant’ and even ‘profit-making’, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is going against the very grain with which the institute was founded under the Nehruvian idea of nation building. If FTII is run by private agencies they will transform the institute from an art school into an institution primarily aiming to churn out technicians for the industry. In the process the fees will also drastically increase. The cumulative result is that FTII will not only cease to be the free space of creative expression it was intended for, but also become unaffordable by a vast majority of the Indian population.
We feel that with these alarming policies the government is shirking one of their primary responsibilities to nurture learning, and make this learning is accessible to all sections of society. If anything the priority of these state institutions, we feel, should be to cater to those segments of society that do not have other options and cannot afford the fees in private institutions. The direction the government seems to be taking, however, seems to be exactly the reverse in effect – making it elitist and capitalist.
We are doing everything we can to generate public opinion, trying to raise awareness through the press, street plays and campaigns in film festivals, on-line petitions, letter writing campaigns, getting the support of eminent writers, academicians, artists, filmmakers, etc. We are also trying to join forces with other student-bodies around the country to raise the very important questions of whether government funded educational institutes should be handed over to private public partnerships, the absurdity of expecting government educational institutions to be profit generating, and how if the fees increases it denies a majority of the public the very possibility of having quality education.
We would be most grateful if join us in this struggle. It would be a great help if you could send us a letter expressing your support for this protest (you could do this by e-mail, addressed to ftiistudentsbody@gmail.com) as well to the Ministry (which you could send by the post, addressed to Ambika Soni, The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Shastri Bhavan, Delhi).
Please also add your signature to our on-line petition, by clicking on this link: http://www.petitiononline.com/
Do forward this e-mail to everyone you know.
Thanking you very much for your interest, concern and support!
The Students’ Body, FTII
For more information and regular updates, do also visit our blog, http://ftiistudentsbody.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Some Letters of support we have been recieving from all over the globe!
1)
"This is to express our deep concern about the way in which privatization is affecting all the creative institutions in India, which were set up after the Independence of India as an expression of a new hope to revive the ancient cultural traditions of India. Institutions like the F.T.I.I. in Pune was one of the leading lights in this Indian renaissance. But now it looks like the forces of colonialism, in a new form, are ready to destroy the creative imagination, by domesticating Indian culture by enslaving it to market forces. In the name of Independence, it is vital that such places of creative enterprise continue to have an identity and sovereignty of their own, so that young artists and thinkers can function freely, without having to serve the interests of multi national industries."
Jyoti Sahi
Dr. Jyoti Sahi, (N.D.D. London, D.D. Serampore)
Art Ashram
Silvepura P.O.
Bangalore North 560090
Karnataka, INDIA
Tel: 91-080-28466274
2)
4)Re: Student Agitation at FTII (this was a reply posted on the link below)
http://www.ftiipeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=618
Postby pierrefriquet on Thu Nov 18, 2010 3:34 pm
Dear Comrades,
it's from Johannesburg, South Africa, in a special historically-speaking that I'm writing this little post. Well I always wish to write THE post that gets created in my mind but always i can't find the right timing to put all that down. So I'm following Param's advice " Please don't sit idle. There's a lot we can all contribute, by just commenting".
I'm actually writing from work where I put on pause my editing job, a documentary, to write these lines. As said above, where i stay right now, is a historical meaningful place for South Africans, Sophiatown. You can wikipedia it, it's very relevant to know what happened there.
This area, Sophiatown, was an oasis of "freedom" and multiculturalism in the desert of apartheid days. Because of the Group act, everyone was compartimented into ghettos, whites among whites, blacks amongs blacks, coloured among coloured, Indians among Indians, Chinese among Chinese etc
But Sophiatown was not. It was alive with mixed ethnies and languages. Blacks used to hang with whites and so. It was a small pocket where difference was accepted and celebrated.
The Nazi-like regime of apartheid didn't like so much HAPPINESSS and unity among diversity, so they displaced by force everybody there to create an area reserved for police men and reservists. Everybody from the area was put into ghettos and no place like that existed till democracy came back in 1994.
It's a far stretched and totally subjective but don't let FTII be a place for police men and reservists. It's an island in the middle of a desertic ocean.
This institute has breed the best years of my life and forever I shall remember each face, each second that i encounter.
The place is fragile and constitutes an UNIQUE environment in the world. I can't express or explain what is FTII to somebody that i don't come from FTII.
I have to use analogy so I use the term UTOPIA or i can refer to a film. If FTII was a FILM, what would it be? So I chose 8 and half for its artistic freedom and famous sequence towards the end where Marcello is with women in his imaginary kingdom.
I'm geographically far but emotionally with you guys. Some days back, I had a chat with a soldier who was a member of the AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS's armed wing. Remember before Independence in India, the armed wing of CONGRESS. Same stuff. That guy was among the personal guards of Nelson Mandela.
At great extend, we talked about a new form of REVOLUTION ! media-cum-social revolution.
And I can see with you guys happening.
Just the fact that i'm writing now is a sign of this new movement.
Please I'm addressing to the artists hearts of all. Please make films/small clips/video installation/any audio visual content and share it on youtube.
I saw on facebook photographs of small posters and so on. This is great. I'm only encouraging to continue all that.
All my life, I will bear a sentimental debt to FTII. I thought I will come back and teach or whatever. This is an opportunity for everyone to GIVE back what FTII gave us.
ALL THE BEST TO ALL
don't give up the FIGHT
Pierre
"This is to express our deep concern about the way in which privatization is affecting all the creative institutions in India, which were set up after the Independence of India as an expression of a new hope to revive the ancient cultural traditions of India. Institutions like the F.T.I.I. in Pune was one of the leading lights in this Indian renaissance. But now it looks like the forces of colonialism, in a new form, are ready to destroy the creative imagination, by domesticating Indian culture by enslaving it to market forces. In the name of Independence, it is vital that such places of creative enterprise continue to have an identity and sovereignty of their own, so that young artists and thinkers can function freely, without having to serve the interests of multi national industries."
Jyoti Sahi
Dr. Jyoti Sahi, (N.D.D. London, D.D. Serampore)
Art Ashram
Silvepura P.O.
Bangalore North 560090
Karnataka, INDIA
Tel: 91-080-28466274
2)
"Friends,I wish to express my support for your ongoing struggle against the proposed take-over of FTII by private agencies. I hope the Ministry of Information And Broadcasting will reconsider the decision and save the Institute which has been the sustaining force behind the Indian film industry."
Good luck to you all.
Dr.K.P Shankaran
Associate Professor
St. Stephen's College
Delhi
3) Dear Friends,
It pains me enormously to see the plight of all of you,me included.I had written to you all the reason why the govt. is hellbent to ruin the Institute.You all will be proud to know that India is very fast racing to become the MOST CORRUPT nation in the world.Every day a new scam is unearthed and the shameless politicians are sucking the nation dry of all its resources.Under these circumstances the only choice that is left for us is to stick to our guns.You will be shocked to know that people with vested interest in the industry are also behind the institute becoming private,because it serves their interest.So don't expect that the persons who matter in the industry will back you up.You will have to fight your own battle.If you feel that I can be of any help I am with you all ALWAYS in whatever way you want.My only suggestion is DON"T LOSE HEART,the darkest night will also pass to welcome a beautiful morning.
With Best Wishes to you all,
Your's Sincerely,
Adeep Tandon.
19th Nov.2010.7.50pm
08097514047.
3) Dear Friends,
It pains me enormously to see the plight of all of you,me included.I had written to you all the reason why the govt. is hellbent to ruin the Institute.You all will be proud to know that India is very fast racing to become the MOST CORRUPT nation in the world.Every day a new scam is unearthed and the shameless politicians are sucking the nation dry of all its resources.Under these circumstances the only choice that is left for us is to stick to our guns.You will be shocked to know that people with vested interest in the industry are also behind the institute becoming private,because it serves their interest.So don't expect that the persons who matter in the industry will back you up.You will have to fight your own battle.If you feel that I can be of any help I am with you all ALWAYS in whatever way you want.My only suggestion is DON"T LOSE HEART,the darkest night will also pass to welcome a beautiful morning.
With Best Wishes to you all,
Your's Sincerely,
Adeep Tandon.
19th Nov.2010.7.50pm
08097514047.
4)Re: Student Agitation at FTII (this was a reply posted on the link below)
http://www.ftiipeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=618
Postby pierrefriquet on Thu Nov 18, 2010 3:34 pm
Dear Comrades,
it's from Johannesburg, South Africa, in a special historically-speaking that I'm writing this little post. Well I always wish to write THE post that gets created in my mind but always i can't find the right timing to put all that down. So I'm following Param's advice " Please don't sit idle. There's a lot we can all contribute, by just commenting".
I'm actually writing from work where I put on pause my editing job, a documentary, to write these lines. As said above, where i stay right now, is a historical meaningful place for South Africans, Sophiatown. You can wikipedia it, it's very relevant to know what happened there.
This area, Sophiatown, was an oasis of "freedom" and multiculturalism in the desert of apartheid days. Because of the Group act, everyone was compartimented into ghettos, whites among whites, blacks amongs blacks, coloured among coloured, Indians among Indians, Chinese among Chinese etc
But Sophiatown was not. It was alive with mixed ethnies and languages. Blacks used to hang with whites and so. It was a small pocket where difference was accepted and celebrated.
The Nazi-like regime of apartheid didn't like so much HAPPINESSS and unity among diversity, so they displaced by force everybody there to create an area reserved for police men and reservists. Everybody from the area was put into ghettos and no place like that existed till democracy came back in 1994.
It's a far stretched and totally subjective but don't let FTII be a place for police men and reservists. It's an island in the middle of a desertic ocean.
This institute has breed the best years of my life and forever I shall remember each face, each second that i encounter.
The place is fragile and constitutes an UNIQUE environment in the world. I can't express or explain what is FTII to somebody that i don't come from FTII.
I have to use analogy so I use the term UTOPIA or i can refer to a film. If FTII was a FILM, what would it be? So I chose 8 and half for its artistic freedom and famous sequence towards the end where Marcello is with women in his imaginary kingdom.
I'm geographically far but emotionally with you guys. Some days back, I had a chat with a soldier who was a member of the AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS's armed wing. Remember before Independence in India, the armed wing of CONGRESS. Same stuff. That guy was among the personal guards of Nelson Mandela.
At great extend, we talked about a new form of REVOLUTION ! media-cum-social revolution.
And I can see with you guys happening.
Just the fact that i'm writing now is a sign of this new movement.
Please I'm addressing to the artists hearts of all. Please make films/small clips/video installation/any audio visual content and share it on youtube.
I saw on facebook photographs of small posters and so on. This is great. I'm only encouraging to continue all that.
All my life, I will bear a sentimental debt to FTII. I thought I will come back and teach or whatever. This is an opportunity for everyone to GIVE back what FTII gave us.
ALL THE BEST TO ALL
don't give up the FIGHT
Pierre
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
UPDATE - Chairman FTII Addresses Students
The conclusions of the meeting with the Chairman of FTII on 16th November, 2010, with the administration and the students' body yielded an extensive statement from Dr. U.R. Ananthamurthy, Chairman, FTII.
The unequivocal demands of the students were addressed in the backdrop of a passionate protest which took the form of the whole student community coming together to oppose the credibility of the Hewitt Report, the impending threat of its implementation, and the immediate need for an official ratification of the PK Nair committee's mandate.
The Chairman agreed with the students' demands and announced an emergency Governing Council (GC) meeting on 18th November, 2010. He stated that the GC is being convened to give the Nair Committee official recognition and mandate from the Ministry. He promised to communicate to the Ministry his opposition of Institute’s privatization on the lines of the Planning Commission’s report.
The Director of the Institute, Mr. Pankaj Rag stated that a new batch would not be admitted till the Institute’s infrastructure is upgraded. The students are hoping that tomorrow the GC will ratify these announcements and the Ministry’s representative will take concrete steps for the same.
However, apprehensions remain as in the past three years the GC has continued to subvert a transparent and constitutional process and gone back on its promises to the students.
The constitution of an alternate and credible committee headed by Shri P.K. Nair, an iconic stalwart who has shaped the cultural and artistic discourse on films and its preservation, was approved in the previous Governing Council meeting, with a core committee comprising of Shaji N. Karun, Chandita Mukherjee, Nachiket Patwardhan and Kundan Shah, along with a faculty and student representative. However, the mandate to Nair Committee was never officially ratified and the GC had reverted to the Hewitt report.
To ensure that such a breach of trust will not be repeated in tomorrow’s GC meeting, the students' non-negotiable demands are: rejection of the Hewitt Report with immediate effect and termination of Hewitt's service contract; the ratification of the Nair Committee’s official mandate and the deferment of the admission of a new batch till the Nair Committee’s recommendations are tabled.
The students will continue to push towards the shaping of a larger discourse on the policy level attitude of the I& B ministry towards privatization of education and the Planning Commissions diktat of transforming FTII and SRFTI into 'self reliant/revenue generating/profit generating' Institutions.
The agitation for a truly democratic, functional, autonomous space, where cinema can thrive as a pluralistic art form, not limited by the whims and fancies of a myopic Ministry, will continue.
Times of India article
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/FTII-privatisation-draft-rejected/articleshow/6937989.cms
PUNE: The draft for privatisation of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) has been rejected in toto by the members of the newly formed PK Nair committee and the FTII chairman.
On Tuesday, FTII director Pankaj Rag and chairman U Ananthamurthy lend support to the students' demands against the institute's privatisation. They promised to communicate the same to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Planning Commission.
What follows this move is a governing council meeting at FTII on Thursday, which will be attended by representatives of the ministry. "There is no question of self-reliance in a film institute like the FTII. I, therefore, support the demands made by students against the institute's privatisation. I shall communicate the same to the Planning Commission. And, if things don't happen accordingly, I will be the first to resign," said Ananthamurthy while addressing the students on Tuesday.
Members of the PK Nair Committee, like filmmakers Jahnu Baruah, Kundan Shah, Shaji Karun and scriptwriter Shama Zaidi among others, were present in the meeting held on Tuesday with the FTII student representatives and alumni.
The online petition floated by FTII students two days ago has already got a favourable response from several student and teacher organisations, besides NGOs all the city and all over the country. "The PK Nair Committee needs to be empowered. Details are being worked out as to how this committee will function and what suggestions it will make now that the proposed draft report has been scrapped," said Samarth Dixit, president of FTII students' association.
Rag said that steps are being taken to resolve this issue. "We will be deferring the admission of the next batch till this problem is solved. We will make sure that students' issues are put across to the ministry," he said. The Governing Council meeting on Thursday will determine the next course of action at FTII.
PUNE: The draft for privatisation of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) has been rejected in toto by the members of the newly formed PK Nair committee and the FTII chairman.
On Tuesday, FTII director Pankaj Rag and chairman U Ananthamurthy lend support to the students' demands against the institute's privatisation. They promised to communicate the same to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Planning Commission.
What follows this move is a governing council meeting at FTII on Thursday, which will be attended by representatives of the ministry. "There is no question of self-reliance in a film institute like the FTII. I, therefore, support the demands made by students against the institute's privatisation. I shall communicate the same to the Planning Commission. And, if things don't happen accordingly, I will be the first to resign," said Ananthamurthy while addressing the students on Tuesday.
Members of the PK Nair Committee, like filmmakers Jahnu Baruah, Kundan Shah, Shaji Karun and scriptwriter Shama Zaidi among others, were present in the meeting held on Tuesday with the FTII student representatives and alumni.
The online petition floated by FTII students two days ago has already got a favourable response from several student and teacher organisations, besides NGOs all the city and all over the country. "The PK Nair Committee needs to be empowered. Details are being worked out as to how this committee will function and what suggestions it will make now that the proposed draft report has been scrapped," said Samarth Dixit, president of FTII students' association.
Rag said that steps are being taken to resolve this issue. "We will be deferring the admission of the next batch till this problem is solved. We will make sure that students' issues are put across to the ministry," he said. The Governing Council meeting on Thursday will determine the next course of action at FTII.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
FTII in News, the Protest against Privatisation of Education
http://profit.ndtv.com/video/show/176264
(NDTV Profit, 'Students Protest against "Makeover"')
Also has an interview with Resul Pookutty and the footage from Yesterday's Protest
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/FTII-privatisation-draft-rejected/articleshow/6937989.cms
Article in Times of India
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/article894254.ece
Article in The Hindu (though they have a lot of facts wrong, have mentioned it to them so hopefully we will have a new revised piece)
(NDTV Profit, 'Students Protest against "Makeover"')
Also has an interview with Resul Pookutty and the footage from Yesterday's Protest
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/FTII-privatisation-draft-rejected/articleshow/6937989.cms
Article in Times of India
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/article894254.ece
Article in The Hindu (though they have a lot of facts wrong, have mentioned it to them so hopefully we will have a new revised piece)
Monday, November 15, 2010
Letters by Students of FTII to the Minister (I&B)
1)
TO:
Ambika Soni, the Minister 15th November 2010
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
The Government of India
Dear Madam,
As a student of the Film and Television Institute of India I wish to express my growing concern about the present state of affairs here as well as the future of the potential and heritage this space embodies.
Your recent policy decisions and general apathy towards the institute seems to point to a lack of value in cinema and the arts in general as an important aspect of our culture. This Institute was founded under the Neheruvian idea of nation building, but now with spreading virus of capitalism even education seems to have become a tradable commodity, something you want to make self-reliant and even profit making! It is alarming to think of parents having children and expecting them to walk, talk and earn money for the household from their very conception! What are parents there for then?
I would like to ask you: Why is the responsibility of the state to nurture learning and creative expression being shirked through efforts to disinvest and hand over this premier institute to private public partnerships? Why has a multinational private company like Hewitt Associates, who have no experience in the arts, been employed on tax payers money to make a report and even have a hand in the molding the future of an institute that is, though sadly not acknowledged as such, of national importance?
By increasing the fees you are curbing the potentialities of so many creative minds who come from humbler backgrounds and cannot afford it. Even if you are starting short term courses which are ‘profit-making’ to subsidize the main streams of the film course, who are you intending these courses for then? Why do you even consider opening courses such as computer gaming in one of the two only government institutes in the country dedicated to the art and craft of cinema? Why can you not open another institute somewhere else to do this?
The creation of a film needs space, necessary equipment and time, all of which would be seriously infringed if there is an overpopulation of students all relying on the same hardly sufficient infrastructure. Why do you subvert all these concerns with the bizarre promise of making the institute a ‘global film school’? In your own ministry website, which incidentally has not been updated for more than three years, you advertise the institute as having produced films as well as filmmakers of international repute – does not your comment ignore if not actually insult the pivotal role this institute has played in the history of Indian cinema, in its rich legacy of talent and influence? If you mean that the institute needs to be upgraded we all plea for the same and could not agree more – but why, instead of taking the immediate and necessary action to salvage the crisis in the institute, do you divert the issue into making the institute an elitist and capitalist enterprise which goes against its very grain and idea?
I trust you are already aware of the present issues we are facing here. But briefly to reiterate, if necessary: there are five batches of students presently in the institute, all ironically enrolled into a three-year course, none of whose schedules are running on time. This leads to clashes in terms of schedules and the availability of equipment and studio space, all of which result in further delays and accentuates the problem. There is a lack of personnel to instruct and teach the students, and there is lot to be desired in terms of expertise and capabilities in the meager faculty that are here. The faculty and administration seem to be incapable of making schedules for the projects, workshops and classes of students and ensuring that these schedules are followed. Small unfortunate contingencies, such as the laboratory breaking down or a camera having to be repaired or the need for electricity back up in the face of power cuts, are not attended to promptly, as all initiatives become stuck in a quicksand of bureaucracy with none of the relevant persons taking up responsibility – thus wasting even more precious time and curbing the efforts of students to try and do their work.
Very simply put, the institute is presently dysfunctional.
It is true that students themselves often cause delays because of various reasons, but how can they be expected to have the necessary discipline when the very bodies that are supposed to instill this discipline – the faculty and administration – are so disorganized, inefficient and indifferent that they hamper the initiatives of the students more often than they aid them?! We are all struggling to keep ourselves afloat in the deluge of cynicism that the present state of affairs has brought about.
Yet, despite all this, despite there not being enough hostel space to accommodate the students in a residential course, despite there not even being a consensus of what syllabus should be followed and how, you are admitting a new batch of students into an already sinking institute! This utterly unfair on all of these people, who will waste even more time than us with the problems mounting one on top of the other, who will spend five, six even seven years to complete a three year course, who are not even sure of the quality of the education they will receive here and who are coming blindly because of the heritage of this place, because of its name and the rosy misrepresentations you paint of it everywhere you can while not bothering to make the realities match up.
I am writing now to sincerely request, even plead you to stop this trend, to save the institute and let it live up to its name and true potential. To take action with every means at your disposal and solve the present situation before thinking of taking more students or starting new courses.
Art is the subconscious of the people, it is where we dream and reach to have dialogue both with ourselves and others. It is a free space where we question, acknowledge, celebrate and grow. Without art, a culture would go insane.
Just as we must take care of our own personal health as individuals, both physical as well as mental, it is the responsibility of the government to do the same for the body that it represents. Please do not submit to the pressures of capitalism and globalization at the risk of losing of what is ours, to what has been built with wisdom and care. Please nurture this space instead of giving it up for adoption to parents who will treat it as a money making endeavor. Let the Film and Television Institute of India be what it was supposed to be and has already been for so many years.
Yours sincerely,
Saumyananda Sahi,
1st Year Cinematography,
FTII, Pune
2)
To, 14/11/12
Ms. Ambika Soni,
I&B Ministry,
Union of India.
Madam,
I am a 2nd year student of FTII. I joined the course in the year 2007 and have been here for almost 3 years. In this time, I have come to realise that this issue of disinvestment that surrounds us today has infested this place for over a decade. My understanding of this situation tells me that the core of the problem lies in the way the government looks at this place and in turn, looks at CINEMA.
Film making is an expensive medium and the returns in CERTAIN TYPE OF FILM MAKING are huge. But one must know that this is not the only kind of film making that exists in the country. Even so, it is very easy for a third person (in this case- I&B Ministry/ Union of India) to see this place, involved in training people to make films, as a profit making venture. This has not been the case when it comes to art schools like NSD and Baroda School of Fine Arts. Maybe this is because, theater and painting (which necessarily do not involve big returns) are perceived as an art form and CINEMA is not. It is easy to feel proud of artists like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mani Kaul but difficult to allow conditions that makes their films possible. THAT REQUIRES VISION and CHARACTER.
In the proposal, made by Hewitt at the behest of your ministry for the 'up-gradation of FTII to international standards', refers to FTII as a 'brand'. What this company fails to understand that this 'brand value' it refers to has come into being because of the diploma films that the students of the '3 year subsidized course' have made it in the last 50 years. The other 'self sustained courses' that exist today (with its self sustainence) exists and has any value, if at all, because of these 3 year diploma courses.
The diploma course in its essence inspires films of various aesthetic nature, as the students making them come from all parts of the country and all strata of society. These films made with our humble resources, have represented our nation across the globe for half of a centurry. Dis-investment would lead to this unique diversity of the place that still inspires art, being lost. With its tall free structure, FTII (as your ministry would like to see it) would shut itself to a huge section of the society. The films that come out would be made by a very small section of society and hence would be homogeneous in nature. This itself would kill all possibility of art and subsequently would kill a huge part of alternative cinema that even today represents our films in a respectable light.
Now the decision to look at films as an art forn, the foremost art form of the last century, lies with you/your ministry/ your government. Countries are made with vision, not money. The choice of not letting one of the only two government films schools of this country turn into a money churning machine, lies with you.
Hoping for a reply,
Ruchir arun,
2nd year direction,
FTII.
1st Year Cinematography,
FTII, Pune
2)
To, 14/11/12
Ms. Ambika Soni,
I&B Ministry,
Union of India.
Madam,
I am a 2nd year student of FTII. I joined the course in the year 2007 and have been here for almost 3 years. In this time, I have come to realise that this issue of disinvestment that surrounds us today has infested this place for over a decade. My understanding of this situation tells me that the core of the problem lies in the way the government looks at this place and in turn, looks at CINEMA.
Film making is an expensive medium and the returns in CERTAIN TYPE OF FILM MAKING are huge. But one must know that this is not the only kind of film making that exists in the country. Even so, it is very easy for a third person (in this case- I&B Ministry/ Union of India) to see this place, involved in training people to make films, as a profit making venture. This has not been the case when it comes to art schools like NSD and Baroda School of Fine Arts. Maybe this is because, theater and painting (which necessarily do not involve big returns) are perceived as an art form and CINEMA is not. It is easy to feel proud of artists like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mani Kaul but difficult to allow conditions that makes their films possible. THAT REQUIRES VISION and CHARACTER.
In the proposal, made by Hewitt at the behest of your ministry for the 'up-gradation of FTII to international standards', refers to FTII as a 'brand'. What this company fails to understand that this 'brand value' it refers to has come into being because of the diploma films that the students of the '3 year subsidized course' have made it in the last 50 years. The other 'self sustained courses' that exist today (with its self sustainence) exists and has any value, if at all, because of these 3 year diploma courses.
The diploma course in its essence inspires films of various aesthetic nature, as the students making them come from all parts of the country and all strata of society. These films made with our humble resources, have represented our nation across the globe for half of a centurry. Dis-investment would lead to this unique diversity of the place that still inspires art, being lost. With its tall free structure, FTII (as your ministry would like to see it) would shut itself to a huge section of the society. The films that come out would be made by a very small section of society and hence would be homogeneous in nature. This itself would kill all possibility of art and subsequently would kill a huge part of alternative cinema that even today represents our films in a respectable light.
Now the decision to look at films as an art forn, the foremost art form of the last century, lies with you/your ministry/ your government. Countries are made with vision, not money. The choice of not letting one of the only two government films schools of this country turn into a money churning machine, lies with you.
Hoping for a reply,
Ruchir arun,
2nd year direction,
FTII.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Dr. U. R. Ananthamurthy (Chairman, FTII) says in his reply to the student community of FTII
"I want to assure the students that I will take moral responsibility and quit as Chairman in case the FTII fails to retain its ideal of teaching cinema making as an art and as high quality educational endeavor."
-Dr. U. R. Ananthamurthy, Chairman FTII (A contemporary writer and critic in the Kannada language and is considered as one of the pioneers of the Navya movement. He is well known among Indian authors.He is the sixth person among seven recipients of the Jnanpith Award for the Kannada language, the highest literary honor conferred in India. In 1998, he received the Padma Bhushan award from the Government of India.)
-Dr. U. R. Ananthamurthy, Chairman FTII (A contemporary writer and critic in the Kannada language and is considered as one of the pioneers of the Navya movement. He is well known among Indian authors.He is the sixth person among seven recipients of the Jnanpith Award for the Kannada language, the highest literary honor conferred in India. In 1998, he received the Padma Bhushan award from the Government of India.)
Petition Online to Save FTII, Please show your support by signing.
http://www.petitiononline.com/ftii/petition.html
If you support our cause and are worried about the state of higher education in this country. Please click on this link and sign the petition. It would only take some seconds of your time but would mean a lot to all of us.
If you support our cause and are worried about the state of higher education in this country. Please click on this link and sign the petition. It would only take some seconds of your time but would mean a lot to all of us.
Adoor Gopalakrishnan's reaction to the report
KERALA KOUMUDI
" People ignorant about cinema behind the privatisation plan " - Adoor Gopalakrishnan
P.Sanil Kumar
Alappuzha
" There are people who are ignorant about cinema behind the new proposal at FTII ", says veteran film maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan. He adds " I will not let this happen. The private firm assigned for this purpose has nothing to do with cinema. It smells fishy when a private firm who is ignorant about cinema is approached to make the plan when there are government agencies and alumni like us. Nobody among the alumni will let this happen.
I am with the FTII students who strike for this cause. The FTII is an asset of the nation. There is no necessity to upgrade FTII to global standard when it has already groomed lot of filmmakers to the world cinema. The institute is meant for all sections of the society. The poor should be able to afford the fees. I will fight against it if the plan is to start self financed courses or privatise the institute in the shadow of the name 'upgradation'. I heard about the project has plans to make FTII a global film school comparing it with institutions that has nothing to do with cinema. The institute is not a space for the 'privatisation thirsty people'"
" People ignorant about cinema behind the privatisation plan " - Adoor Gopalakrishnan
P.Sanil Kumar
Alappuzha
" There are people who are ignorant about cinema behind the new proposal at FTII ", says veteran film maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan. He adds " I will not let this happen. The private firm assigned for this purpose has nothing to do with cinema. It smells fishy when a private firm who is ignorant about cinema is approached to make the plan when there are government agencies and alumni like us. Nobody among the alumni will let this happen.
I am with the FTII students who strike for this cause. The FTII is an asset of the nation. There is no necessity to upgrade FTII to global standard when it has already groomed lot of filmmakers to the world cinema. The institute is meant for all sections of the society. The poor should be able to afford the fees. I will fight against it if the plan is to start self financed courses or privatise the institute in the shadow of the name 'upgradation'. I heard about the project has plans to make FTII a global film school comparing it with institutions that has nothing to do with cinema. The institute is not a space for the 'privatisation thirsty people'"
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Open letter to the Chairman FTII, Dr. U. R. Ananthamurthy
Students’ AssociationFilm and Television Institute of India,
Law College Road,
Pune:411004
Open letter to Dr. U R Anantamurthy
Chairman,Governing Council,FTII
Dear Sir,
The students, teachers and staff of FTII have, since the beginning, expressed their anxiety regarding the study being done by Hewitt Associates. We had sought a clarification on the premise and intent of the study as we feared that it was just another garb for laying the ground for withdrawing government support from FTII.
Sir, you along with the Joint Secretary (Films), Director (FTII) and Registrar (FTII) had re-assured all present on campus that the study was being done in the true spirit that recognized the cultural and educational heritage of FTII. You had restored our faith and urged us to participate in the study without any reservations. As the chairman of the governing council, your mandate to the proposed Nair committee further strengthened our belief that everybody had the best interest of FTII in mind.
Yesterday the first meeting between the representatives of the Nair committee and those of Hewitt associates took place in the institute premises. Through the course of the discussion the Hewitt representative made it clear in no uncertain terms that he could not include the proposed changes in the DPR as they are in conflict with the brief given to them by the ministry which was regarding making the institute “self reliant”.
The question that we raise is why, at various platforms, you said that there was no hidden agenda? Why did the Joint Secretary say that the ministerial brief had nothing to do with withdrawal of government support? Why were hundreds of students, ex-students, staff, teachers misled into believing that the study was a “third party independent “ inquiry being done to address the pending issues of the institute?
We just want to ask why has everybody lied to us?
Over years you have been advocating support for tribal representation at the institute. You have demanded FTII to be declared an institute of national importance and making it more accessible to all sections of the society. Yet sir, through your tenure a steep increase in the fee structure has been taking place. A steady erosion of academic values has ensued due to inability of FTII to stand ground against the dictates of the misitry. Autonomy has been subverted and learning made subservient to notions of marketability. And all this has happened while you held post of the Chairman of FTII.
We want to ask you, how do you envision tribal representation, accessibility, and status of national importance in an institute whose main purpose is to earn profit? Which caters to only a small section of the public who can afford it?
In an age of globalization the community looks up to writers, thinkers, and visionaries like yourself to protect sanity in the face of neo liberal assault . You have inspired us with your work. It is unfortunate that you as chairman are overseeing this subjugation of FTII, which has been a central pillar in the evolution of Indian cinema.
We would like to ask you as students: What is the role of writers, thinkers, academicians and artists in society? Do they play any role in the building and preservation of communities and institutions? We hope your response will restore faith for aspiring filmmakers who are losing hope.
Sir, We would ask why you are still continuing as the Chairman? Why do let yourself be appropriated? Why do you choose to remain quiet when, in your name, the institute is treading a path which is contradictory to everything which you have expressed in public forums?
Please step down as the chairman of the institute if you can’t intervene in affairs of the institute. It will restore our faith that a visionary and educationist is not party to what we are, and will, continue to resist –with whatever means we have. We will be saved the embarrassment of telling future generations of students that a writer stood there mute as the grave for FTII was being dug. It will restore their faith in themselves as artists. It will restore hope.
On behalf of the FTII student community,
Samarth Dixit Naveen Padmanabha
President General Secretary
Students’ Association Students’ Association
Shaji N Karun says to FTII Student Community in Support
"A right is not what someone gives you; it's what no one can take from you.
Please FORWARD AND MARCH FOR THE ONE WE DREAM. EVEN OUR DEMOCRACY IS A CREATION FROM DREAM."
- Shaji N Karun (National Award-winning director, cinematographer and FTII Alumnus. His debut film Piravi won the Caméra d'Or - Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. He is best known for his award winning films Vanaprastham and Kutty Srank.)
Letter Campaign by FTII Students
Recently students of FTII have been working on a Letter Campaign as part of the larger protest against the Crisis they have been facing . Each student has written a letter addressed to the Minister I&B, Ms. Ambika Soni, voicing their grievances against the Administration and the Government's larger policy of disinvestment in the Institute. These letters are an indication of the mass discontent on the FTII campus and the lack of faith in the Administration anymore.
Letters are being received in large numbers, in various languages and formats, they will be sent to the ministry soon, in hope of some answers to our questions and pleas.
Extracts from the same letters will be updated on the blog from today onwards, so that our concerns are made public. We are also hoping for letters of support from all quarters, other student unions, filmmakers, artists, academicians, fellow film students, film schools and anyone who supports our cause.
Please write to ftiistudentsbody@gmail.com, we would welcome your support and any suggestions.
"You announce that FTII needs to be upgraded to be made into a 'global film school.' If the existing courses are running in the pathetic way that they are, do you honestly want to burden the Institute even more?" - Anindya Shankar Das (2nd Year Junior, Direction)
"Instead of solving the already existing problems on campus you seem to be pushing the Institute down the drains by forcing the PPP model on FTII."- Riju Das (2nd Year Senior, Cinematography)
"Lack of hostel space implies that students have to spend money for rent and subsidiaries which could mean more expenditure proving to be a burden from those coming weaker financial classes" -Suyash Barve (1st Year, Direction)
Friday, November 12, 2010
Press Release - 11th November, 2010
Students’ AssociationFilm and Television Institute of India,
Law College Road,
Pune:411004
PRESS RELEASE
The premier Institute of film learning Film and Television of India is today facing a struggle for its very existence. For fifty years the Institute has been a free space for the creative and aesthetic exploration of the art of film making. But a concerted attempt by the Ministry of I&B and the administration to transform the structure and functioning of the Institute is threatening the very vision of FTII as a centre of academic excellence.
The policy level shift of seeing FTII as a business venture rather than as a national centre of higher learning has resulted in a steady qualitative depletion and erosion of academic atmosphere and values in the institute.
Further, an apathetic administration has rendered the Institute dysfunctional. Students have been drawing the administration’s attention to the lack of basic infrastructure and resources repeatedly, but only ad hoc measures have been doled out. The Institute is unable to accommodate the current students and the lack of basic infrastructure is severely impeding their academic pursuits.
The administration is in denial and is preparing to admit another batch in an Institute that is bursting at it seams. The Institute is not just ill equipped to handle another batch, but is heading towards a complete physical collapse, in the face of new admissions.
All constitutional means of voicing these legitimate grievances have been subverted as every channel of dialogue and communication between the students and the authorities has been completely sidelined..
Instead of addressing the pressing problems of the students on campus, the government has, on more than one occasion, shown its intent to withdraw its support from the running of the institute. A continuous pressure has been put to make the institute “profit generating”.
The latest in this series of steps is a draft report prepared by Hewitt Associates, Gurgaon, regarding what is being portrayed as an “up gradation of the FTII to international standards”. This is just a fanciful misnomer for a planned withdrawal of the government’s stake in FTII.
The report states that the FTII should be re-modeled along the lines of Public Private Partnership (PPP), strongly advocating the launch of a number of exorbitantly priced, “industry oriented”, short terms courses to make the institute profit generating.
We feel that such a policy will make the FTII exclusive and homogeneous, catering only to a certain set of people – those who can afford it. People will be ‘trained’ for the job market rather than organic professionals looking at cinema not just as a craft, but also as an art form.
Students, with the continuous support of the alumni, filmmakers, artistes, academicians and scholars have been resisting this mindset of the ministry towards FTII, but the authorities are continually bypassing our concerns.
FTII is being designed as an institution solely dedicated to profit generation, altering the moral fabric of the institute and annihilating the vision that it has stood for the past five decades. We take pride in an Institute that enables creative people from diverse backgrounds to come here and become part of a rich tradition of film making, but the myopia of the I&B Ministry and the administration will destroy the ethics and spirit of FTII, the space that incubates, nurtures and re-defines film making as an art form in India.
The students need the support of concerned citizens, academic and educational Institutions, scholars, writers, artistes, and the civil society of Pune, cutting across the cultural and social strata, to preserve the rich heritage of Prabhat studio and the soul of Film and Television Institute of India.
Samarth Dixit
President
Students’ Association
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Picture this - The death of FTII
Over the past fifty years, FTII has proved to be a central pillar in the evolution of Indian cinema, as we know it. With their continued contribution to mainstream as well as regional cinema, the alumnus of the Institute has ensured that FTII is recognized as a national centre for film education and practice.
Set up in 1961 with the aim of promoting good alternative cinema and setting new standards in film-making both aesthetically and technically, the institute has provided free space for thinking and learning to generations of would be film-makers. Over and above setting critical benchmarks for the film industry while nourishing it with highly professional and focused people, specialised in various aspects of film-making, FTII resonates in the halls of World Cinema with it’s sensitive understanding of life and film as a post-industrial art practice. . Along with the National Film Archives of India (NFAI), the Films Division and the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), it has played a crucial role in the creation, preservation and propagation of our cross cultural heritage through the medium of Cinema.
All this had been made possible by our love for socio-aesthetic experience of life translating through the Government ensuring pluralistic democracy, celebrating varied shades of our interlinked racial memories. FTII has been unique in the world amongst all film schools, providing equal / non-discriminating and ample scope for experimentation and exploration, encouraging independent tendencies that challenge the conventional and perpetuate change. FTII’s emotional quotient, and fabric have attracted students from various socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. It’s dynamism and richness are reflected in their work and concerns. Over the years, the students of this institute have contributed to and excelled in the various creative and technical aspects of Indian cinema – both as practitioners as well as scholars. The excellent collection of films at the National Film Archives has acted as a rich resource for learning. The two institutes have together been a crucible for nurturing talent.
However, following a press report published by a PTI source mentioned FTII being re modeled as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) regarding the same, a draft report prepared by Hewitt Associates, Gurgaon, appointed by no less than the ministry apparently, proposes an embarrassing and ridiculous “up gradation of FTII to international standards”. The said report strongly advocates the launching of a number of exorbitantly priced, “industry oriented”, short terms courses to make the institute profit generating. The report clearly lays a blue print, which will ensure that in due course of time; the Government can withdraw all support, read responsibility, from the institute.
Mahatma Gandhi had observed, the real difficulty is that people have no idea of what education truly is. We assess the value of education in the same manner as we assess the value of land or of shares in the stock exchange market.
Also mounting over the past five decades, market forces have plagued the institute regularly. Almost in apology of FTII’s founding Nehruvian plan, various governments have, on more occasion than one, shown active interest to withdraw its support from the running of the institute. Crisis is not a stranger to us. This could only happen once academic interests become slaves to a numb blindness and indifference parading in the name of marketability. Cynical opportunism and shortsightedness prefer instant lotteries to lasting values. Constant hikes in the fee structure and recent trend of launching exorbitantly priced short term, ‘industry oriented’ courses without any corresponding increase in the physical and intellectual infrastructure, are cases in point...in recent times, repeated attempts have been made to change / re-cast the independence, concerns, structure and functioning of the institute. The crumbling global-ised economy, its gambles and disasters have only pressed on harder to turn the institute into a mere profit machine. We are witness today to a complete subversion of FTII, its imminent the cultural death like most counterparts across the country. The students, with the continuous support of the alumni, filmmakers, artistes, academicians etc. have been resisting this mindset of the ministry towards FTII.
We feel that if the recommendations of the DPR are accepted then FTII will cater only to a certain set of people – those who can afford it, making it exclusive and homogeneous, eliminating any of the plurality and diversity in creativity. Skills will be given precedence, and people will be ‘trained’ for the job market rather than organic professionals looking at cinema also as an art and not just a craft. From being an art school which encourages plurality of cinema, FTII shall be relegated to being a facilitator in providing skilled labor for an assembly line production system. It will be designed and constructed as an institution along the lines of a profit making, giving no room for experimentation, or space to redefine the boundaries of film making. How will it grow? It will remain stunted. This fundamental alteration in the moral fabric of the institute will, we fear, mark the end of FTII and what it has stood It seems ironical that this is being pushed through at a time when the Deputy Chairman of the Planning commission, Mr.Montek Singh Alhuwalia himself has admitted that PPP’s have not delivered much in the Health and Education sectors. Despite this, the Government is bent on shying away from its commitment to education and is seeking to privatize most educational institutes and is withdrawing financial support from them. The crisis faced by FTII is symptomatic of the onslaught on higher education throughout the country.
This is a matter of growing concern for us as students, especially because this Institute is one of its kinds in the country, which is able to draw out creative people from different parts of the country.
“What is the purpose of higher education and its faculties In the light of the current assault on young people ,especially since it is education that provides the intellectual foundation and values for young people to understand ,interrogate and transform the when necessary the world in which they live? Matters of popular consciousness, public sentiment and individual and social agency are far too important as part of a larger political and educational struggle not too to be taken seriously by academics who advocate the long and difficult project of democratic reform”
Prof. Henry A Giroux
In ‘Youth Beyond The Politics of Hope’
Set up in 1961 with the aim of promoting good alternative cinema and setting new standards in film-making both aesthetically and technically, the institute has provided free space for thinking and learning to generations of would be film-makers. Over and above setting critical benchmarks for the film industry while nourishing it with highly professional and focused people, specialised in various aspects of film-making, FTII resonates in the halls of World Cinema with it’s sensitive understanding of life and film as a post-industrial art practice. . Along with the National Film Archives of India (NFAI), the Films Division and the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), it has played a crucial role in the creation, preservation and propagation of our cross cultural heritage through the medium of Cinema.
All this had been made possible by our love for socio-aesthetic experience of life translating through the Government ensuring pluralistic democracy, celebrating varied shades of our interlinked racial memories. FTII has been unique in the world amongst all film schools, providing equal / non-discriminating and ample scope for experimentation and exploration, encouraging independent tendencies that challenge the conventional and perpetuate change. FTII’s emotional quotient, and fabric have attracted students from various socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. It’s dynamism and richness are reflected in their work and concerns. Over the years, the students of this institute have contributed to and excelled in the various creative and technical aspects of Indian cinema – both as practitioners as well as scholars. The excellent collection of films at the National Film Archives has acted as a rich resource for learning. The two institutes have together been a crucible for nurturing talent.
However, following a press report published by a PTI source mentioned FTII being re modeled as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) regarding the same, a draft report prepared by Hewitt Associates, Gurgaon, appointed by no less than the ministry apparently, proposes an embarrassing and ridiculous “up gradation of FTII to international standards”. The said report strongly advocates the launching of a number of exorbitantly priced, “industry oriented”, short terms courses to make the institute profit generating. The report clearly lays a blue print, which will ensure that in due course of time; the Government can withdraw all support, read responsibility, from the institute.
Mahatma Gandhi had observed, the real difficulty is that people have no idea of what education truly is. We assess the value of education in the same manner as we assess the value of land or of shares in the stock exchange market.
Also mounting over the past five decades, market forces have plagued the institute regularly. Almost in apology of FTII’s founding Nehruvian plan, various governments have, on more occasion than one, shown active interest to withdraw its support from the running of the institute. Crisis is not a stranger to us. This could only happen once academic interests become slaves to a numb blindness and indifference parading in the name of marketability. Cynical opportunism and shortsightedness prefer instant lotteries to lasting values. Constant hikes in the fee structure and recent trend of launching exorbitantly priced short term, ‘industry oriented’ courses without any corresponding increase in the physical and intellectual infrastructure, are cases in point...in recent times, repeated attempts have been made to change / re-cast the independence, concerns, structure and functioning of the institute. The crumbling global-ised economy, its gambles and disasters have only pressed on harder to turn the institute into a mere profit machine. We are witness today to a complete subversion of FTII, its imminent the cultural death like most counterparts across the country. The students, with the continuous support of the alumni, filmmakers, artistes, academicians etc. have been resisting this mindset of the ministry towards FTII.
We feel that if the recommendations of the DPR are accepted then FTII will cater only to a certain set of people – those who can afford it, making it exclusive and homogeneous, eliminating any of the plurality and diversity in creativity. Skills will be given precedence, and people will be ‘trained’ for the job market rather than organic professionals looking at cinema also as an art and not just a craft. From being an art school which encourages plurality of cinema, FTII shall be relegated to being a facilitator in providing skilled labor for an assembly line production system. It will be designed and constructed as an institution along the lines of a profit making, giving no room for experimentation, or space to redefine the boundaries of film making. How will it grow? It will remain stunted. This fundamental alteration in the moral fabric of the institute will, we fear, mark the end of FTII and what it has stood It seems ironical that this is being pushed through at a time when the Deputy Chairman of the Planning commission, Mr.Montek Singh Alhuwalia himself has admitted that PPP’s have not delivered much in the Health and Education sectors. Despite this, the Government is bent on shying away from its commitment to education and is seeking to privatize most educational institutes and is withdrawing financial support from them. The crisis faced by FTII is symptomatic of the onslaught on higher education throughout the country.
This is a matter of growing concern for us as students, especially because this Institute is one of its kinds in the country, which is able to draw out creative people from different parts of the country.
“What is the purpose of higher education and its faculties In the light of the current assault on young people ,especially since it is education that provides the intellectual foundation and values for young people to understand ,interrogate and transform the when necessary the world in which they live? Matters of popular consciousness, public sentiment and individual and social agency are far too important as part of a larger political and educational struggle not too to be taken seriously by academics who advocate the long and difficult project of democratic reform”
Prof. Henry A Giroux
In ‘Youth Beyond The Politics of Hope’
Saturday, November 6, 2010
AN ARTICLE BY P. SANILKUMAR ON CURRENT SCENARIO, TRANSLATED BY SRIRAM RAJA( KERALA KOUMUDI)
KERALA KOUMUDI
September 27th
Pune Film Institute is also getting privatised
P. Sanil kumar
alappuzha : Moves have been made in the green room to privatise film and television institute of india,pune. The details about privatisation lies in the report of a private agency appointed by the government to upgrade institute to global standards. The report was submitted by the Hariyana branch of Hewitt Associates, an american based multi national consultancy firm.
The privatisation and the proposed hike in the fees will make the common man inaccessible to the courses in the institute. Only people from the elite class of the society can afford to study in the institute if it is privatised. There is a chance of subsidised courses getting changed to self financed fee structure.
The institute has groomed people like John Abraham, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji N Karun, Sunny Joseph, Venu, Beena Paul, Santosh Sivan, Resul Pookkutty for Indian Cinema. A detailed project report has been submitted to globalise the 50 years celebrating institute. In the report is mentioned that the huge amount required to upgrade the institute physically and academically will be achieved through the step by step privatisation of the institute.
There are now four subsidised courses and eight self financed courses in the institute. The aim is to raise fund for the upgradation from the proposed self financing courses.
The institute was started in 1961 and the training for Doordarshan was started in 1974. This plan for the privatisation happened as a proposed solution for the long time struggle of the students to upgrade the basic infrastructure including hostel.
Courses like an eighteen months program of MBA in Business entertainment, a twelve months program in Advertisement film making, a twelve months program in TV journalism, six months program of preservation and restoration of films are proposed in the report.
The proposed fees structure for the new courses are 4.5 lakhs, 7.5 lakhs, 7 lakhs, 3.93 lakhs for Indian students and 9 lakhs, 15 lakhs, 14 lakhs, 7.86 lakhs for foreign students.
September 27th
Pune Film Institute is also getting privatised
P. Sanil kumar
alappuzha : Moves have been made in the green room to privatise film and television institute of india,pune. The details about privatisation lies in the report of a private agency appointed by the government to upgrade institute to global standards. The report was submitted by the Hariyana branch of Hewitt Associates, an american based multi national consultancy firm.
The privatisation and the proposed hike in the fees will make the common man inaccessible to the courses in the institute. Only people from the elite class of the society can afford to study in the institute if it is privatised. There is a chance of subsidised courses getting changed to self financed fee structure.
The institute has groomed people like John Abraham, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji N Karun, Sunny Joseph, Venu, Beena Paul, Santosh Sivan, Resul Pookkutty for Indian Cinema. A detailed project report has been submitted to globalise the 50 years celebrating institute. In the report is mentioned that the huge amount required to upgrade the institute physically and academically will be achieved through the step by step privatisation of the institute.
There are now four subsidised courses and eight self financed courses in the institute. The aim is to raise fund for the upgradation from the proposed self financing courses.
The institute was started in 1961 and the training for Doordarshan was started in 1974. This plan for the privatisation happened as a proposed solution for the long time struggle of the students to upgrade the basic infrastructure including hostel.
Courses like an eighteen months program of MBA in Business entertainment, a twelve months program in Advertisement film making, a twelve months program in TV journalism, six months program of preservation and restoration of films are proposed in the report.
The proposed fees structure for the new courses are 4.5 lakhs, 7.5 lakhs, 7 lakhs, 3.93 lakhs for Indian students and 9 lakhs, 15 lakhs, 14 lakhs, 7.86 lakhs for foreign students.
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