Protesting students outside the admin block.
Declaring that they will launch a hunger strike on Monday, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) has resolved to stand against “administrative changes and irregularities” on campus. The unrest comes after eight chairpersons/deans of Centres/Schools at JNU were replaced over their opposition to the mandatory attendance rule for students — as first reported by The Indian Express on March 15.
The protest, JNUTA said, is to revolt against the “illegalities ranging from appointments and harassment of teachers to a host of violations of the statutes and acts of University”. The teachers’ body alleged that appointments have been done to convert higher decision-making bodies into compliant bodies, and to crush difference of opinion. About 80-100 protesters gathered outside the administrative block, while 40-50 were huddled in the corridor of the Centre for Historical Studies (CHS), where professor Umesh Kadam has been appointed as chairperson, replacing Sucheta Mahajan.
During the day, allegations emerged that security guards escorting Kadam had manhandled students who were sitting on the floor so he could reach his cabin. “The guards were violent. If this is what they did today, they will definitely use greater force on Monday”, alleged Sumedha, a student at CHS. Kadam couldn’t reach his cabin, and the students continued their protest till late on Friday, discussing a potential university strike in coordination with the JNUSU and JNUTA.
The JNU registrar did not respond to calls or messages from The Indian Express. CHS students, meanwhile, issued a statement, saying that the move to replace Mahajan “did not follow procedural norms”. “The intention behind Professor Kadam’s appointment was to clamp down on the student boycott of attendance, which began in January 2018,” the statement read. The students also alleged that “four female guards trampled on students who were repeatedly calling for a peaceful dialogue. Students called for halting the forcible entry but the guards proceeded to step on students’ bodies in their attempt to make their way through”.