Flagging health concerns, JNU VC appeals for dialogue, end to strike

As an indefinite hunger strike led by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) crossed the two-week mark, JNU Vice-Chancellor Santishree D Pandit has reached out to the protesters once again, urging student leaders to end the protest, and return to the negotiation table.

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In an official appeal issued on Friday and addressed to the protesters, Pandit said the administration was open to dialogue. She expressed concern over the health of the students protesting despite repeated medical advisories.

“This is being issued as an appeal regarding your hunger strike, now entering the 15th day. Despite repeated medical evaluation and advice from doctors to discontinue the strike in your long-term interests, you have chosen to persist,” the VC said in the letter.

Pandit said several rounds of meetings had already taken place between the administration and student representatives, and called for a return to “reasoned negotiation”.

“Your expectations of the immediate acceptance of all your demands is neither administratively realistic nor legally tenable,” she noted in the letter.

The VC added, “I, once again, urge you to immediately end your hunger strike and come for a meeting to resolve issues through negotiations and mutual understanding.”

A senior university official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “JNU has always stood for dialogue and democratic processes. No demand is being dismissed. But the wellbeing of our students is paramount.”

Student groups, however, remain firm on their core demands, including the reinstatement of the JNU Entrance Exam (JNUEE), hostel allotments up to PhD submissions, an increase in the merit-cum-means (MCM) scholarship, and the withdrawal of proctorial actions. Observers claimed that the administration’s conciliatory tone and repeated outreach reflected JNU ethos of “debate and dissent”, rather than confrontation.

“This appeal is not a crackdown — it’s a call for conversation,” said a faculty member from the School of Social Sciences. “JNU’s strength lies in its ability to disagree without disengaging.”