The students' union at the Jawaharlal Nehru University has rejected the enquiry committee’s report on the February 9 incidents in the campus. Shehla Rashid, the vice-president of the students' union, said on Tuesday, “We have seen over the past few months how, repeatedly, not only the students' union, not only the teachers' association, the students of this campus with a signature campaign, signed by almost 2000 students here at the administration block, have rejected this enquiry committee.”
The committee has been termed casteist by the students. Rashid referred to the person heading the committee, who continues his work as the treasurer for the anti-reservation organisation Youth for Equality. She also reminded people of the chief proctor, who resigned on account of this enquiry committee. She said that the proctorial committee was dissolved within four hours of formation, and without any documentation.
“What is happening really is that the government, instead of fighting us politically, instead of taking us on on issues that we have raised” (unemployment, fellowships, hostels, caste based discrimination on campuses). “We raised questions about their policies like 'Swacch Bharat', we raised questions about 'Beti Bachao', and about their communal programmes and that is why they are targeting us.”
“This enquiry committee, it's quite laughable that in a university where students pay Rs 250 as the fees for one semester, where the poorest of the poor students come and get elected to the union, there you are expecting students to pay Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 fine. What is this? This is simply to create a chilling effect so that students do not say anything against Modi, students do not say anything against the government.”
“At a time when you have seen we have gone around the country challenging the Modi government’s policies and people have responded in an overwhelming manner, at that time the government is forcing upon us its decisions, the government is fighting with us a proxy war...”
Based on the enquiry committee’s report, the university on Monday rusticated Umar Khalid for one semester, Kashmiri student Mujeeb Gattoo for two semesters, and Anirban Bhattacharya till July 15. Bhattacharya has also been barred from studying at JNU for the next five years.
Kanhaiya Kumar has been fined Rs 10,000, and fines have been slapped on 13 other students. The campus has been declared out of bounds for two former students – Banojyotsana Lahiri and Draupadi – while hostel facilities for Ashutosh Kumar and Komal Mohite have been withdrawn for a year, and till July 21, respectively.
The students have rejected this, and have declared their intention of going on an indefinite hunger strike, starting Wednesday, April 27.
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