Unsafe hostels that lack food, students suffering injuries and deaths, and female students returning after extended absence made to “undergo pregnancy tests” to prove their “fitness” — Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday raised a host of issues flagged by Adivasi students in Maharashtra who are on a hunger strike for the past ten days.

Gandhi wrote to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and urged him to “personally meet representatives of the protesting Adivasi students, hear them, and resolve their issues immediately”.

The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha wrote: “Adivasi students from across Maharashtra have been on hunger strike for more than ten days. In Pune, they told me about rules that strip them of their dignity and shut off their path to education.

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Many Adivasi students come from remote villages and depend on government hostels to study in the cities. A new rule bars anyone over 30 from these hostels, excluding many who are still completing their studies or preparing for exams.

Hostels are unsafe and often lack food, sanitation and medical care. Students have suffered injuries and deaths, including from snake bites. Facilities for women are worse still.

I was shocked to learn that female students returning after an extended absence must undergo pregnancy tests and a range of other medical tests, to prove their “fitness”. It is a humiliation that presumes them guilty until they prove otherwise. This rule is an attack on their dignity and their humanity.

These students are not asking for charity. They are demanding what is theirs by right. They should not have to risk their health for their government to listen. I therefore request that you personally meet representatives of the protesting Adivasi students, hear them, and resolve their issues immediately”.