''Pakistan Zindabad'' slogans raised by outsiders: JNU report

New Delhi, March 16

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A high-level committee instituted by the Jawaharlal Nehru University to investigate claims of “anti-national” activities at an event held on the campus in February has imputed provocative slogans allegedly heard to some outsiders.

In a report, the committee of five faculty members — instituted on February 10, soon after allegations of “anti-India” activities on campus flew thick and fast on campus  — said a group of masked outsiders had been responsible for slogans, among them 'Bharat ko ragda do ragda' (India should be stamped out) and 'Pakistan Zindabad'.

The report however said that one could not hear another controversial slogan — ‘Bharat Ki Barbadi tak jung’, in videos of the event held on February 9 — although eyewitnesses have reported they heard them. The report makes no mention of another slogan reported to have been heard on campus — ‘Bharat ke tukde tukde kar do’ (India should be cut to pieces).

The committee said “it was unfortunate that students allowed people from outside the university to participate and raise slogans” and pointed to security lapses for allowing them to enter. The report also dubbed students’ decision to hold the event despite the university’s withdrawal of permission an act of “wilful defiance”. 

The committee also said JNU Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar — who faces sedition charges for the event —objected to the decision of the university to withdraw permission.

The committee said leftist student leader Umar Khalid, identified as one of the event’s main organisers, defiantly told university management they would still hold the event and the "security could do what it wanted".

"The presence of a group of outsiders was noted by the security staff and confirmed by many other eyewitnesses. This group of outsiders had their head and face covered by a cloth/scarf most of the time.”

"This group of people had engaged in shouting the following slogans: 'Kashmir ki azadi tak jang rahegi, jang rahegi', 'Bharat ko ragda do ragda… zor se ragdo', 'Go India, go back' and 'Pakistan Zindabad,'" said the report, adding one student could be seen participating in the sloganeering in the video.

"The organisers disobeyed the instructions from the administration about not holding the event. This amounts to wilful defiance. It is most unfortunate that the organisers allowed the event to be taken over by a group of outsiders who created a charged atmosphere by raising provocative slogans. This act by outsiders has brought disrepute to the entire JNU community," the report said.

The report has two sections — findings and recommendations — and investigated four major aspects of the entire row: the event, the procession, the sloganeering and the lapses on part of the administration.

The university has shared the committee’s findings with 21 students, who have received notices in connection with the event.

The recommendations have been kept private, but some well-placed sources in the university claimed the committee has recommended expelling five students already facing sedition charges — including Kanhaiya Kumar, Khalid and Anibarn Bhattacharya. 

"The committee also notes that none of the JNUSU office-bearers acted with due responsibility. They had to behave with even more restraint and caution befitting the position they hold.

"They need to rise above the politics and other differences as they represent the student community. It is unbecoming of student representatives that they should be found engaging in disorderly conduct or condoning it," it added.

The university also said that although some students were found guilty of procuring permission from the university under pretext, the university’s dean of students (DoS) should have written to cancel permission for the event instead of sending a text to the JNU’s Chief Security Officer.

"It has to be noted that since the event had taken place in 2015 as well, the dean's office was not vigilant enough to anticipate and prevent this event. Security did not make any efforts to stop outsiders from shouting provocative slogans and prevent them from leaving the campus," the report said.

"As per the deposition of the eyewitnesses, ABVP members led by JNUSU Joint Secretary Saurabh Sharma, who objected to the event, were shouting slogans against the other side," it added.

Sharma has also been issued notice after the committee found him guilty of breaking the university’s rules by blocking traffic.

Five students, among them Kumar, Khalid, and Bhattacharya, were charged with sedition for “anti-national’ activities at an event on campus to protest the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru to mark his third death anniversary on February 9. Kumar, Khalid, and Bhattacharya were arrested later — Kumar on February 12 and the other two later in the same month.

Kumar has been released on bail, but Khalid and Bhattacharya are still in jail.

The university revoked the suspension of eight students’ students — among them Kumar — after the panel finished its investigations, but said their punishment would be decided after they replied to the notices. PTI