Arnab Dam, once a brilliant student at IIT Kharagpur who later turned to Maoist politics, is now pursuing his PhD at Burdwan University from prison. But despite his academic achievements, Arnab alleges that he has been denied scholarships unfairly, prompting him to launch a hunger strike inside jail from Saturday demanding financial assistance.
Arnab, who overcame multiple hurdles to secure permission for research, claims that the state government is ignoring his academic talent. He has written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Education Minister Bratya Basu about the issue but says no action has been taken. Allegations of nepotism in scholarship distribution at Burdwan University have also surfaced.
Human rights organisation Association for Protection Democratic Rights (APDR), has extended its support to Arnab. Its general secretary, Ranjit Shur, said there are two types of scholarships available for researchers at the university—the state-run Vivekananda (non-NET) scholarship and the university’s own fellowship. “Arnab is not being given either of them, despite ranking first in every exam. He should have been the first to receive the scholarship,” Shur alleged.
Burdwan University Vice Chancellor Shankar Kumar Nath clarified that the institution has no authority to grant scholarships directly. “It is a matter for the state government. We can only recommend names,” he said.
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However, the VC added that the university is extending support to Arnab in other ways. His registration fee of Rs 10,000 has been waived, and he is being provided with books, notebooks and pens. The fee required for thesis submission will also be waived, and the university’s executive council is considering approving a laptop for him. “We cannot help anyone financially, but we are reducing his academic expenses,” Nath said.
Several faculty members expressed admiration for Arnab’s academic commitment. History professor Tanvir Nasreen described him as “very good at studies with excellent results”. She confirmed receiving an email from the superintendent of Burdwan District Correctional Facility about Arnab’s hunger strike.
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Arnab’s journey has been anything but ordinary. A former IIT Kharagpur student, he abandoned his studies to join CPI (Maoist) out of ideological conviction. He was later accused of leading the deadly 2010 Shilda EFR camp attack in which 24 soldiers were killed. Facing 31 serious charges, he was arrested in Asansol in 2012 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
While in jail, Arnab turned back to academics. He completed his graduation and post-graduation in history from IGNOU, securing first class in both. He also cleared the State Level Eligibility Test (SLET) in 2018. Under court approval, he appeared for an interview at Burdwan University on June 26 last year under police guard, where he topped the merit list among 250 candidates. His PhD programme officially began on July 5, 2023.
“Despite his academic brilliance, Arnab’s hunger strike reflects the uncertainty of his scholarly journey behind bars. As the government remains silent on his demands, we fear the case may expose larger issues of bias and neglect in scholarship allocation in state universities,” said Shur.
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