Avoid student meeting on campus: JNU registrar writes to MPs

The subject of the meeting was ‘The JNU fee hike and the crisis of public-funded education’. In his letter to the MPs, JNU Registrar Pramod Kumar wrote: “You are requested not to address the said protest meeting, as its venue falls in the close vicinity of JNU’s administrative block, which is a prohibited area… for holding such activity.”

The registrar invoked academic rules and a Delhi HC directive to say that “hunger strikes, dharnas and other peaceful and democratic forms of protest” can only be held 100 metres away from the administrative block.

Mohd Salim and K K Ragesh attended the event.

Addressing the gathering, Mohd Salim said: “Your anger is absolutely legitimate. All of us would never have been able to enter higher education if the public-funded university system did not exist in our country.”

K K Ragesh said he was “cautioned” by the Registrar not to attend the meeting. “Even when I entered campus, some security personnel told me the meeting has been cancelled…”

MP Kareem did not attend the meeting citing “health issues”, and wrote to the registrar.

“… it is a very unfortunate act from the JNU administration to request an MP not to attend an event. The whole country… has come out in solidarity with the protest… I will be happy to attend such programmes in the future,” he wrote.