The student agitation at Delhi Technological University made its biggest impact so far, on Monday. Ninety-eight per cent of the total students boycotted their mid-semester examination.
The peace and quiet on the campus on Monday, ironically, was the most troubling indicator of the unrest. "Roughly 65 students out of 2,900 across all undergraduate programmes appeared for the exam.
The morning shift was attended by only seven candidates," said a university official. The press statement issued by DTU, however, pegged the attendance at 88 students.
Students may have been conspicuous by their absence, but worried parents made their presence felt. Many, interestingly, had come without their wards just to keep tab on the response to the call for boycott.
"The students are not being unreasonable. Would IIT be the same if it becomes a state university and its name is changed altogether?" asked Dr Prashant Borkar, whose son in first year also gave the exam a miss.
Borkar's son, however, was not at home. He was at the Swarn Jayanti Park (Japanese Park) Rohini along with nearly 800 other DTU students to express his solidarity.
"We have submitted a representation to the DU V-C asking him to reschedule the examination," said a student. On Monday, the varsity attempted to break the deadlock in vain.
Mid-semester exams, according to press release, will be held on Tuesday too.