President Abdul Hamid had to cut short his visit to the famous Visva Bharati University on Tuesday due to an overnight siege by students.
According to several Indian news outlets, the students' demonstration forced the Bangladesh president to leave Santiniketan, founded by the Nobel winning author Rabindranath Tagore, even before his scheduled lunch.
The president had to leave the university 45 minutes ahead of schedule as students, aided by their parents, held the university's vice-chancellor, Sushanta Duttagupta, hostage in his office since 4.30pm on Monday.
The demonstrators gave in only after the VC agreed to their demand
They did not allow the vice chancellor to step out and receive the Bangladesh head of state.
Media reports say the agitating students and their parents also broke a Visva Bharati tradition that has been around since Tagore's days where the vice-chancellor formally opens the famous Poush Mela (winter festival) after a special prayer at Chatimtala. This is the first time that the VC couldn't make it to the prayers.
The protesters demanded that the VB authorities withdraw the decision to scrap the 50% 'quota' reserved for students of VB-run schools Patha Bhavan and Siksha Satra although UGC laws do not allow such preferential treatment.
The VC was hammered with slogans. Poush Mela visitors — and presumably the Bangladesh President as well — would have heard it.
The demonstrators gave in only after the VC agreed to their demand.
Later, the VC rushed home to freshen up after being locked up in his office for 20 hours, but by the time he scrambled back to meet Abdul Hamid, the president was on his way out.
Following the incident, Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi used strong words to express his displeasure at the "growing indiscipline" among students.
"Agitation by students in the state is bringing disrepute to their institutions," the governor is reported to have said on Tuesday.
With the vice chancellor and senior university officials besieged, the Bangladesh president was driven to the Rathindra Guest House from the helipad at 12.45pm and then to Uttarayan Complex, where Rabindra Bhavan authorities arranged for a short cultural welcome.
He stayed for less than an hour and decided to leave without having lunch.
He was on his way out when Duttagupta arrived at 1:52pm. At 1:57pm, the president left for the helipad where he exchanged brief pleasantries with Dattagupta.
It was clear that the protesters had timed the agitation keeping Poush Mela and Hamid's visit in mind so as to pile on the pressure on the university authorities.
The Visva-Bharati VC, however, gave in and stalled the "unconfirmed decision" of the academic council to scrap the quota. He issued a note saying that the prevailing admission system would continue "in the interest of the students" and told the media that the matter would be discussed at the next academic council meeting.
Former VB VC Sujit Kumar Basu, who was at Santiniketan on Tuesday, felt "ashamed".
"What happened today is quite shameful. It has never happened in 120 years of Poush Mela. We could not even show the minimum courtesy to the President of Bangladesh.”
“Both the agitators and the university authorities should have been more cautious about the ramifications. It is a matter of surprise that not only the students but teachers also took part in the agitation. We cannot hide this embarrassment," he added.
The Visva-Bharati teachers who supported the agitation blamed the VC for the mess.
