“Anti-Student” And “Anti-University”: What JNU Students Have To Say About Their VC

Following a few dramatic developments over the past week, the vice-chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), M. Jagadesh Kumar has alleged that students protesting against the administration’s policies gheraoed his home and confined his wife to his residence while he was away, attending a meeting. Tweeting about the incident, he asked if this was an ethical way to protest, and further added that neither he nor his wife would file a complaint against the reportedly erring students, keeping their future in view.

The students in question, while vehemently and repeatedly denying the allegations, maintained that the JNUSU returned to their designated place of hunger strike after waiting for the VC at his residence.

On March 25, the students marched from the spot of the hunger strike to the VC’s residence to demand an audience, so as to lay before him their grievances. “It was a planned march from the spot of the hunger strike to the VC’s residence, they gheraoed it but did not break in,” Madhur Verma, Delhi Police PRO, said.

The incident pertains and follows a week-long hunger strike by the JNUSU and fellow students to protest against the various policies of the JNU administration under the new VC, including an online entrance examination, MCQ pattern tests for entrance to MA, MPhil and PhD courses, removal of deprivation points, to name a few.

In an interview with The Quint, the students who are a part of the strike explain that the new measures of entry into the universities would destroy its all-India character. The system of online entrances would ensure that only a select few, from the urban elite, would gain entry to JNU. “There is a lot of noise about the ‘Digital India’ program, but are all schools in this country equipped with computers? Are all students, who come from under-developed areas well versed in the operation of a computer?” asks Sarika Chaudhary, Vice-President of the JNU students’ union.

“The lies of the administration were dismantled by the Delhi Police long before we clarified about it. Delhi Police’s PRO, Madhur Verma has categorically stated that students protested outside the VC’s house and came back. Even after that, the VC is accusing us, which is an outright lie,” N Sai Balaji, President of JNU students’ union, told Campus Watch.

On being asked about the future of the hunger strike, Balaji said, “We have called off the hunger strike as of now because we have understood that the VC, Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, is a robot in the hands of Modi and Ambani. So, we have decided to vote out the Modi government so as to oust such ‘Mamidalas’ who are not only anti-student but also anti-universities.”

Sarika Chaudhary reiterated the same to Campus Watch. “We have called off the hunger strike, but we will take the movement further.”

The system of deprivation points, being done away also adds to the woes of under-privileged aspirants. JNU boasts of a quality gender ratio, much of which is often attributed to the deprivation points awarded to women candidates.

Over the past two years, JNU has often been in the news, the most popular instance being the 2016 sedition row against then-president Kanhaiya Kumar and others. Being one of India’s premier institutions, one would expect that the environment provides for a democratic atmosphere, of which dissent is one important part.

In recent years, there has been an upward trend of muzzling voices that are predominantly anti-establishment. By branding student politics and student unions as a waste of resources and unnecessary political interference, the administration is trying to downplay student activism, which has historically been a crucial factor in maintaining the steel frame of democracy. This calls for campuses with larger dissenting environments, that are immune to the political establishment’s vested interests, with innovative means to protest.

A case in point is of how the students at the Cotton University, Guwahati, used Saraswati Puja as a method to protest against the impending Citizenship Amendment Bill. Likewise, students at RGNUL, Patiala protested and took to a strike after six students were suspended on the grounds of hooliganism, according to the administration.

However, the students maintained that the boys demanded better food in the mess alongside transparency in the college administration. This incident is really important to realise the importance of establishing student unions in each and every institution of higher education.

However, in recent years, all we have seen is how dissent has been equated with joblessness and the opposition trying to malign the ruling regime. There’s no talk anymore of how effective student protests is to maintain the democratic nature and autonomy of educational institutions. Rather, all of it is just debris of political gibberish, the regime trying to undermine all forms of dissent. Education is something India, or any sane country for that matter can’t compromise on. With education, develops critical thinking, something all ‘charismatic’ leaders are apprehensive of.

At the end of the day, it is imperative that students across the country develop critical thinking, democratic ideals and most importantly, learn to dissent against injustice meted out to them in any sphere. There should be a collective demand for the formation of student unions and larger participation in the decision-making processes of the college. Only then can we hope for holistic development in education, empowering students to take on and hold the reins of social, economic and political affairs of the country in the future.

Featured image for representative purpose only.
Featured image source: Saumya Khandelwal/Hindustan Times via Getty Images.