PUNE, DEC 23: Even as ex-students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune and Mumbai mobilise support for the ongoing agitation at the premier academy, the striking students have, in an open letter to Mahesh Bhatt who questioned the existence of FTII, expressed their determination to protect the institute from the forces of privatisation.

``Let us remind you that the institute's budget of Rs five crore is nothing compared to the Rs 700 crore the government earns as entertainment tax from the film industry every year,'' the Students' Association of FTII wrote to Bhatt who resigned last week as chairman of the Governing Council of the FTII. Bhatt had questioned the need for subsidised film education in a country in which 60 per cent of the population lived in abject poverty.

``How is it that in villages where there is no drinking water, you can still buy a Coca Cola and how is it that when people don't have a roof over their heads, the government can give subsidised land to film cities,'' the tirade continued.

Led by their president Kavita Pai, the students averred that the agitation would continue, not only for the immediate implementation of the revised syllabus, but also against the proposed conceptual proposals of director Dr Mohan Agashe.

Economist Sulabha Brahme met the students yesterday and expressed solidarity with their ongoing struggle.

Activists from various fields are being roped in by the students for their support. The fight is not just against Agashe or Bhatt, students argue, insisting that despite the Khosla, Satish Chandra and Estimates committee report recommending reforms, including a Deemed University status for the institute, the government has been indifferent to their demands.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.