Mumbai: Protest erupts over handover of Wilson College Gymkhana

In March 2024 the state government allocated land to the Jain International Organisation JIO on a 30year lease This land was on a plot housing Wilson College Gymkhana established in 1832 on Marine Drive Our report at that time quoted sources as saying that the gymkhana lease had expired and some mismanagement had led to the lease not being renewedTwo yearsNow nearly two years later there has been court action and sporadic protests by those against the gymkhana being given away There was a protest at Azad Maidan SoBo on Monday afternoonThe closed gymkhana on Marine DriveThe protest was to lsquoSave Wilson College Gymkhana for Students Sports and Citizensrsquo Banners announcing the andolan and speaking for the earlier management also said lsquoWe want Wilson College Gymkhana BackrsquoThe numbersThe protesters were sizable in number Some had arrived from Christ Church Deolali Camp Nashik ldquoWe are following the controversy In a global world Nashik does not seem far away This ground must go back to the Wilson College Managementrdquo said Sanjay P Rajesh G and Shavel UPosters outside the gymkhanaThere were several lsquoGirgaonkarsrsquo at the protest with many being lauded for being the motivators and leaders of the Azad Maidan event Milind V and Vignesh S of Aamhi Girgaonkar mdash an organisation working for the rights of Girgaonkars mdash said ldquoSome of our children are Wilson College exstudents This ground should be open to all We see barricades on the ground today and there are bouncers stationed at the entrance to stop people from accessing the groundrdquo ldquoIf the ground was being given for commercial activities like marriages or functions at night the gymkhana needs to raise money for revenuerdquo said the Aamhi Girgaonkar representativesA requestAdvocate Cyril Dara andolan convener said as he climbed onto the dais and took the mike addressing an audience that had filled all the chairs ldquoWe want the Wilson College Gymkhana back In 2024 the government released a GR giving the ground to JIO If anybody has broken rules or there have been violations punish the violators but one cannot take away the gymkhanardquoAdvocate Cyril Dara protest convenerThe advocate added ldquoI did file a Public Interest Litigation PIL but the court dismissed it stating that there were already two PILs on the same subject While the takeover happened in 2024 we did not see any movement on the ground for nearly two years Now we see the barricades etc People are questioning why we did not protest earlier but we are doing so now This is not a religious protest This is a request to the state government to return the gymkhanardquoA prayerReverend Philip Varra from Nashik was the next speaker He stated that the gymkhana was looked after by the Wilson management like a mother looks after a child ldquoWe have a right to this gymkhana This criticism of the giving away of the gymkhana is accompanied by prayer We all need to come together for this effortrdquo he stated before telling the crowd that they should now chant slogans like lsquoNahi chalegi nahi chalegi sarkar ki dadagiri nahi chalegirsquoSports dayAttendee Geeta O said ldquoMy daughter attended Wilson College and she has so many memories about this ground The lease renewal process for the ground should have started the day it expired or a little beforehand as expiry loomedrdquo Current Wilson College faculty Kshama Jayaraj and students said ldquoEvery educational facility needs a ground We used to have our sports day here Now we have to hire grounds for our sports dayrdquoDue processAs the andolan gathered momentum Wilson College principal in charge Dr PhD Jamson Masih was also on site Dr Masih who was a chemistry professor at the college since 2011 and has taken over as principal for the past two years said ldquoThere was a fire in one of the structures on the ground in 2015 After that we did have some restrictions Yet a couple of sports were being played there except during COVID time We are protesting that the handover happened without due process and with no intimation to the college Even when one has to vacate a home there is a certain systemprocess to be followed The matter is in court nowrdquo he concluded as Wilson supporters flourished banners with fervour