‘Tantamount to killing the university’: Ex-JNU Students Union presidents on protest curbs
Expressing shock at the provision of a Rs 20,000 fine on demonstrations, former JNUSU President V Lenin Kumar told The Indian Express: “This is complete extortion. How can one penalise students with such heavy fines for protesting on the campus?”
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Any kind of demonstration within a 100-m radius of any academic or administrative building at JNU can lead to a penalty of up to Rs 20,000 or rustication and expulsion. ArchiveMuch as it has been hailed for academics, the JNU campus has also been synonymous with protests by students over various causes — be it hike in hostel fees or larger national issues such as women’s safety. Many student leaders, from CPI (M) veteran Sitaram Yechury or Kanhaiya Kumar, who joined the Congress only two years ago, went on to build a career in politics.
But now, with the new rules restricting all sorts of protests on campus, former JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) presidents have expressed disappointment and concern over the move, stating that “the very meaning of a democratic campus has come under attack”. These included both former JNUSU leaders who are in active politics as well as those who have built a career in other fields.
Expressing shock at the provision of a Rs 20,000 fine on demonstrations, former JNUSU President V Lenin Kumar told The Indian Express: “This is complete extortion. How can one penalise students with such heavy fines for protesting on the campus?”
Kumar, who is presently an Assistant Professor at School of Government, MIT World Peace University in Pune, said, “During my time on the campus (2012-2013), we had a very supportive Vice-Chancellor who said that he was proud of his students. I myself have arranged more than 50-60 protests at the admin block and was never penalised with a fine or issued a single notice from the administration…”
According to the JNU Chief Proctor Office manual, which contains the “rules of discipline and proper conduct of students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)”, organising events such as “freshers’ welcome parties, farewells or DJ events” on the campus without prior permission will invite a fine of Rs 6,000. Besides, any kind of demonstration within the 100-metre radius of any academic or administrative building at JNU can now lead to a penalty of up to Rs 20,000 or rustication and expulsion from the campus for two semesters, according to the manual approved by the university’s Executive Council on November 24.
Said Kumar, “Following the Delhi gangrape case in 2016, we, as JNU students, had held huge protests — starting from our campus to India Gate. We had a very supportive administration. We always invited leaders from several political parties and ambassadors of different countries to the hostel public meetings without any permissions. I do not recall needing any prior permission from the administration.”
Highlighting how the administration block, also called “ad block” by insiders, at JNU was the nervecentre of every major protest, Sucheta De, a Central Committee Member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, said, “During my time, the administrative block was where all the protests used to happen. A sea of thousands of students used to gather at the admin block… we used to get permissions to hold different events.”
De, who was the president of JNUSU between 2011 and 2012, further said, “The hostel messes were once known for post-dinner public meetings, where intellectuals from all over the country used to come and talk to the students. Today, there is no permission to hold these meetings anymore… I am highly doubtful how JNU will be able to contribute to society. They are killing the university.”
Stating that student representation at the campus currently stands powerless, De said, “Students are not even allowed to ask questions to the administration, representation of the JNUSU has been barred from the Academic Council and all other bodies when, statutorily, the union has a right to be represented. What are the students supposed to do?”
De said JNU has been a consistent “target” for the present government at the Centre.
Mona Das, who was the JNUSU President for two consecutive years, from 2004 to 2006, said only an administration and Vice-Chancellors who are “incapable” of engaging with their students and negotiating with them “would resort to levying such heavy fines and involving the police on campus in case of protest”.
Das, an Associate Professor at Delhi University, said the “ad block” was the heart of every big protest on the campus.
Another former JNUSU President, on the condition of anonymity, said, “The idea of a protest on the campus arises when the students are dissatisfied with the administration. Why is the current administration presuming that the student will be dissatisfied? These kinds of rules are not there for teachers or staff or any other body, only for students. This means that the administration is somehow bringing in policies which are detrimental to the student network.”
He further said, “The idea of a university is to practise democracy…when the university itself is telling students they will be penalised for protesting, what are they teaching the students today?”
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