Tuesday's meeting of Minister of State for I & B Rajyavardhan Rathore with students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) ending without a solution sends out the message that the government's strategy to deal with the four-month long strike is to let it die a natural death. To let it end without yielding to the students' demands. Rathore, it seems, is banking on the reduced media attention and the lack of interest among the general public about the issue. He also seems encouraged by the ground reports the Ministry is receiving from its officials at the FTII campus of the waning enthusiasm among protesters and how a section of students – especially those studying in the short duration courses – want the strike to end at the earliest. Banking on these considerations, the Ministry it seems engages with the students without accepting a single of their demands. The Ministry has set up a one member committee to look into the infrastructural needs of the institute – without the students asking for it – and has expressed its willingness to update the digital support and build an additional studio at the campus. These promises are already part of the plan announced in the Union Budget of 2013. Student representatives participating in the talks with the Ministry say that during the deliberations the Ministry representatives dwell on the 'contentious appointments' and who can be removed and who can't be, however while making a public statement the Minister or the officials steer clear of the issue and go to the extent of saying that the “appointments are not an issue”. But will this stand off end the way the government wants it? It's true that the students' have exhausted almost all their resources. They went on hunger strike, they gathered support from the film fraternity, wrote to film schools across the globe and, quite unexpectedly, made videos to support their argument. There's little more that they can do now. However, an 'opportunity' has landed at the doorsteps of the students which can not only give the agitation a fresh lease of life but also hit the government where it hurts. The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is scheduled to take place in Goa between November 20 and 30. In a last ditch effort to pressurise the government to give them a face-saver – if not accede to all their demands – the FTII students may take their protest to Goa. FTII students, alumni and filmmakers who have extended their support to the present agitation play an active role in organising the festival. They also form a considerable part of the audience at the festival and the ancillary event 'Film Bazaar'. The students may boycott IFFI. They may also be planning to contact international film personalities requesting them to stay away from the event. For a government which is ultra conscious about its image abroad, this is the last thing it would want to happen.
