SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
New Delhi: On hunger strike for days now, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) has claimed that Vice-Chancellor (V-C) Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit acknowledged the ongoing protest for the first time but refused to speak to rusticated students when she visited the protest site.
In a statement issued on Friday, October 16, the students’ union criticised the V-C’s public expression of concern over the health of the hunger strikers, alleging that the administration had not made any concrete efforts to hold negotiations.
The union said the administration had communicated its interest in initiating another round of negotiations at 11 am on Friday, but no concrete steps had been taken to finalise the meeting.
It accused the university administration of making public statements to create an impression of concern while failing to engage meaningfully with the protesting students.
JNUSU reiterated that it was open to “mature, sincere and comprehensive negotiation”, but alleged that the administration was delaying the process.
JNUSU president Aditi Mishra alleged that the V-C briefly visited the hunger strike site in the morning and told the protesters that their demands had been fulfilled and they should end their strike.
“When I came running to the site so I could speak to her, she got in her car and said she will not speak to rusticated students,” Mishra said, asserting that the protest would continue until all demands were met.
The hunger strike is part of the ongoing protest by students over their demands, including the revocation of the rustication of the JNUSU office bearers. The union said the agitation would continue until all demands were addressed.
What led to the protests?
This February, the administration rusticated five JNUSU office-bearers and leaders for two semesters for participating in a protest against the installation of a facial recognition and biometric system at the Dr B.R. Ambedkar Central Library, reported Maktoob Media.
Those rusticated are JNUSU president Aditi Mishra, vice-president K. Gopika Babu, general secretary Sunil Yadav, joint secretary Danish Ali, and former president Nitish Kumar.
JNUSU has also sought action on issues concerning the Equal Opportunity Office (EOO) and the resolution of discrepancies in hostel reservations.
Its other demands include repairing non-functional hostel lifts and damaged roads, increasing seating capacity in the library, and providing gender-neutral washrooms at the university Health Centre.
JNUSU joint secretary Danish Ali said to Maktoob that the rustication of five leaders was an “attempt to silence student dissent”.
“This rustication is being done using the Chief Proctor’s Office (CPO) manual, which aims to target students who raise their voices against the administration. We are fighting against the CPO manual,” Ali said.
“We are seeing this as a larger pattern in which they want to curtail students’ opinions, voices and rights. They target us and label us ‘anti-national’ because we refuse to give up. That is why they fear us so much,” she said.
Cue from AMU protest
Speaking of the protests at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Ali said they “have shown us that if we fight collectively, victory can be achieved. Other students should take lessons from AMU”.
Among the union’s demands is the reconstitution of the Equal Opportunity Office in line with the Rohith Act and its implementation on campus, said the report.
The students are also demanding that the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) be replaced with the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH).
Meanwhile, JNUSU vice-president K. Gopika Babu has accused the varsity administration of being “extremely cruel and inhuman”. She said it refused to provide medical check-ups to striking students.
SOURCE : SIASAT
