JNU row over seat cut in mPhil/PhD admissions: Students lie on the road, block traffic outside UGC office

The students, however, alleged that the police refused to allow them in, and instead “provoked them”, which led to a scuffle between students and policemen, in which some students were allegedly manhandled. Some policemen’s lathis as well as caps were also thrown around by students. “We have sent over 20 emails to UGC officials but they haven’t met us even once till now. Today, we were assured by the police that if we protest peacefully, like we were, they would make us meet UGC officials. Instead, they dilly-dallied, provoked us, and later said that no senior official was free to meet,” said JNUSU president Mohit Pandey.

Frustrated by the lack of response, students blocked traffic near the ITO intersection, and had to face the wrath of ordinary commuters, some of whom even sloganeered against the students and the university.

“This is a mischief being created by police. Students blocked the road because they were not allowed to meet UGC officials. The police had earlier promised that they will ensure that the students get to meet the officials. As soon as we realised there’s public inconvenience, we came back to the UGC office to continue our protest,” said former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar.

JNUSU general secretary Satarupa Chakraborty also blamed the police for encouraging the public to beat JNU students. “We will continue this movement as best as we can. Our three-day university strike will continue till March 28, following which we will protest outside the UGC office again. There is an important meeting of its members, where we have to make our voices heard,” she said.

A few students also blocked the JNU main gate for some time in the afternoon, resulting in a clash between students and security guards, in which both sides alleged they were assaulted.

Following a Delhi High Court order, rhe JNU administration has followed the UGC gazette notification of May 2016 for admissions, which stipulates the number of students a faculty member can guide. Since several professors far exceed this number, there has been a massive seat cut. While four students had challenged the implementation of the notification for admission to JNU, the court, in a recent judgment, said that the notification would have to be followed “without any deviation”.

M S Randhawa, DCP (Central district) told The Indian Express, “We had deployed extra women personnel to handle the women protesters at the site. The students tried to block the road nearly thrice but our officials managed to convince them to not do so. Commuters had to face some problems due to the protest.”