JNU students hold strike as V-C fails to address demands

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 7

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students staged a campus-wide strike on Wednesday, boycotting classes in protest against the administration’s alleged inaction on a series of demands they say have been ignored for months.

The strike was called by the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU). A ‘mashal juloos’ (torchlight procession) was held on August 5 to draw attention to their demands which saw significant student participation.

Protesters rallied on the campus, raising slogans and encouraging their peers to join the strike. The walkout is the latest in a series of actions aimed at drawing attention to the students’ charter of demands, which was submitted to Vice-Chancellor Santishree Pandit in April. In a statement, JNUSU explained their decision to call for a strike, saying, “The JNUSU called for a university strike today after repeatedly trying to meet the VC on the Charter of Demands submitted by JNUSU in April.”

Among the key issues raised by the students is the reopening of Barak Hostel, which has been closed since its inauguration in February. “For the past four months, we have been asking for the Barak Hostel to be opened, but its condition is deteriorating,” said JNUSU President Dhananjay.

“The VC says that the university does not have the funds to reopen the hostel,” he said. The students’ demands include increasing the Merit-cum-Means (MCM) scholarship to at least Rs 5,000 and extending it to BTech students, who are currently excluded. The charter of demands also calls for the revocation of the Chief Proctor Office (CPO) manual, the reinstatement of the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH), and the withdrawal of proctorial inquiries into students who participated in protests for water and gender justice.

The CPO manual, introduced last year, imposes a Rs 20,000 penalty on students for protesting in prohibited areas of the campus or engaging in what is deemed “indiscipline.”