CHS library being shut down, claim students; Misinformation: JNU

Students, including members of both All Indian Students’ Association (AISA) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), though, raised apprehensions of whether the adjoining building — the EXIM Bank Library — was enough to accommodate all the books. They also questioned the need to relocate the library in favour of the new centre, instead of setting up a new building for the purpose.

The administration, in its statement, said relocation was a routine affair: “The proposed arrangement would… ensure pr-udent use of space on campus without affecting academic activities of CHS or any other Centre.”

The move comes after the varsity’s Executive Council meeting on May 30, which “resolved to approve the recommendation of the Space Committee regarding Special Centre for Tamil Studies (SCTS), allocating them the building/premises adjacent to EXIM Bank Library i.e CHS Library.”

A PhD student from the CHS, on condition of anonymity, said, “We, as students who are important stakeholders of the university, were not consulted… There is very limited space in the EXIM Bank Library. Only a few books can be shifted. We do not know what is going to happen to the remaining books.”

Late on Thursday, Saib Bilaval, one of the students, tweeted: “The JNU admin has decided to shut down the History department library & turn it into a special centre for Tamil studies…”

Student organisations, including AISA and ABVP, issued statements condemning the move.

The ABVP demanded that a new building be set up for the Tamil Studies centre. The AISA also said, “The administration must develop infrastructure to establish new centres.”

Officials at the CHS said no books will be discarded.