Protest with a difference showing harassment of farmers, assistant profs waiting to be appointed despite court orders

BATHINDA: It is a protest with a difference. A number of degrees and certificates have been put in a heap of paddy in the courtyard of a home in village Peori falling in Gidderbaha assembly segment, where bye-election is to be held on November 13. In this protest Deepak Azeez tries to raise two issues, harassment the farmers are facing in selling the paddy crop and undue delay in issuing appointment letters and allotting stations to 411 candidates for the post of Assistant Professors in government colleges of the state despite a bench of Punjab and Haryana high court allowing their appeals over a month ago 3aving the way of their recruitment.


Deepak is from amongst 411 candidates out of 1158 assistant professors and librarians who had failed to get appointment letters despite clearing the recruitment process, before their appointment was quashed on August 8, 2022. It is after over two years that their recruitment was revived on September 23, 2024, and since that day they are waiting for the state government to act as per the orders of the high court.


Deepak and many others from 411 assistant professors, put lights off at their homes on Diwali day to put it in darkness as a mark of protest against the state government. Though all are not from farming families as like Deepak, whose family is facing double blow.


“My family had over the years toiled hard in leveling earthen mound into cultivable land and added landholding to make it 5 acres. Nearly a week back we had harvested the crop but as there is no space in the purchase centre in our village, we preferred to unload it in our home and waiting to sell it. On personal front I am waiting the appointment letter so that i could join with others to teach in a government college”, 26 years Depak said while talking to TOI on Saturday. He said many like me are desperately waiting the appointment letters.


The 1158 assistant professors and librarian front had held long protest running into months at village Gambhirpur, the native village of Punjab higher education minister Harjot Singh Bains and during this one of the assistant professors had ended life by suicide.


Punjab government in October 2021 had made appointments of 1091 assistant professors and 67 librarians taking a total of 1158 assistant professors and librarians for government colleges in the state. 124 professors had joined the colleges on December 21, 2021, while 483 had got appointments but the stations were not allotted. The 484 assistant professors out of which there are 411 are without appointment now and 67 librarians had got their names in the list of selected candidates but could not be appointed. A score of petitions were filed against these appointments on technical issues including process for appointments. A single bench of Punjab and Haryana High court on August 8, 2022, quashed the recruitment. The assistant professors had filed appeals against the quashing order by a single judge bench in September 2022. The state government too had filed an appeal against the quashing.