KOLKATA: The Kolkata leg of the nationwide students’ protests on Friday lasted 1.5 hours and covered a 3-odd-km stretch, bringing the city centre to a grinding halt for over five hours. Without getting into comparison, this was the single biggest rally not called by any mainstream political party in recent times.However, what initially was a peaceful protest took a dramatic turn in the evening after the protesters reached Dorina Crossing in Esplanade and carried out a sit-in. Shoes, lathis and water bottles were hurled at the police. The cops charged back with batons, stopping short of using any force.From the morning, a large cross-section of protesters — mostly Gen Z from not just the city but cutting across south Bengal, the young salaried class, the gig workers and even the pension-holders — responded to the call by eight Left student and youth organisations and the Cockroach Janta Party (Kolkata Chapter) to demand central minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the NEET paper leak while also seeking the dissolution of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and justice for students allegedly subjected to police action during protests in Delhi.By 3 pm, the Sealdah station area and the adjoining Metro station and the mall were overflowing. Both lanes of the busy AJC Bose Road were shut as hundreds of youngsters converged from all corners to join the rally.As a set of 500-odd protesters crossed RR Dental College gate, the cops stopped them briefly to allow an Ultorath procession to pass by. By 3.30 pm, thousands of heads were spotted marching towards Esplanade. Till 5 pm, they came in all forms — some shouting slogans, others singing songs of change. In every hand were placards seeking an array of demands — not just the resignation of Pradhan, but scrapping of the NTA and bringing wide changes in the education sector.Lamiya Firdausi participated in the protest with her two children. “My two kids are grown up but still I have chosen to hit the streets for the future generation. For the past few years, education in our country has taken a back seat and we want a reform in the education system. It should be transparent and corruption-free.”Asutosh College student Anushka Ghosh said: “The protest is in solidarity with the students at Jantar Mantar. We want Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign. What enrages us is that there is no accountability from the govt. The protesters wanted to initiate a dialogue but they were brutally lathi-charged by Delhi Police.” AJC Bose College student Md Faisal echoed the same sentiment. “We are on the streets to fight for our future and question what is going wrong in the country.”As the rally entered SN Banerjee Road, protesters shouted slogans — ‘Amra kara? GenZ’, ‘Rastaye kara? GenZ’. Azadi slogans filled the air. Placards with deep-rooted, hard-hitting meaning as well as humorous statements — such as ‘Fix the System, Not the Narrative’, ‘Melody Khao, Mera Future Nahi’, ‘Dear Govt: Ctrl+Z, Undo the System’. As the rally moved towards Esplanade, the energy of the crowd doubled. Several protesters carried posters of Sonam Wangchuk and condemned the police brutality.Trouble erupted after the protesters reached Esplanade and blocked all crossings. Police tried to remove them from Dorina Crossing, leading to a scuffle. As a result, the entire area remained blocked for over five hours. The protesters were supposed to join a night vigil in Esplanade but the cops did not grant them permission. Around 6.30 pm, the protesters moved to Rani Rashmoni Avenue and planned to organise the night vigil there till 2 am. Around 9.15 pm, the police dispersed them from there “peacefully”, asking them to apply afresh for staging a night protest. They removed the guard rails and opened the road for traffic movement.Deeptaru Saha, a protester and SFI supporter, said: “We had planned to stay here till 2 am for the protest. However, the cops asked us to leave the road. We followed their instruction but our protest will continue.” Akash Kar, central executive committee member of SFI, said: “After today’s success, the protests will continue in different colleges, universities and localities from Saturday. We will continue to fight for students.”Meanwhile, the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad has called for a protest from Paddapukur to Moulali on Saturday. Reclaim the Night Women Trans Queer United has plans to go to Delhi Jantar Mantar and support the students’ protest there. They would join as allies to student movement calls made in future.Accusations surfaced from student bodies, especially the SFI and AISA, that “outsiders” aligned to ABVP had plotted the disturbances. ABVP denied the charges, saying no one from the organisation was anywhere near the venue and stated they will mull legal action for trying to defame them.Lalbazar stated that specific cases will be drawn up regarding Friday’s incidents at Esplanade even as CCTV footage is being checked thoroughly. “We have detained a few individuals and whether they have any links with the protesters is being established,” said a senior cop.
