The Jawaharlal Nehru university Student Union (JNUSU)'s call for Indefinite sir in, in late November was followed by a crude and militaristic intervention by the RSS-inspired Vice Chancellor of this prestigious institution of higher learning.
Image: The Hindu
Soon after JNUSU's call came, the space which used to be the spot for protest, inspiring speeches and meetings by students and teachers alike –a vacant space with powerful grafitti has been blocked with patrol vehicles.
Says a JNUSU press release, “This is the same space in Ad block where we used to sit during hunger strike or SIT-IN programs. First, blocking the space with vehicles, and now, installation of gates clearly indicate how the JNU VC has come down to even apply such cheap tactics to keep students away from raising voice. After having utterly failed to scare the student activists with notices, fines, disciplinary actions etc., the JNU VC is now trying to take away the spaces of protest. We want to reiterate, this university has a history of struggle and no gates can put a stop to this.” The statement was issued by Satarupa Chakraborty, General Secretary, JNUSU.
This move of the JNU VC came, after issuing circulars and reminders to the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University against carrying out protests, sit-ins and public events outside the Administration Block, the university on Sunday night “caged” the area traditionally used by the students to carry out protests.
Dubbed as “Freedom Square,” the students see the move to install iron grills as attack on their Freedom of Expression and a crackdown on dissenting voices.
The students have currently been using the space for an indefinite sit-in to demand justice for Najeeb Ahmed, the JNU student who has been missing for over 50 days now. Earlier this year, when some students of the university were charged with sedition, the others had camped there while on a hunger strike.
When the students refused to vacate the spot and refuted all moves by the university to block the sit-in space, the administration intentionally parked four cars on the both sides of the sit-in space and did not remove them even during the day, when they actually required them.
Late on Sunday night, while hundreds of students marched from Ganga Dhaba to the Administration Block against the token punishments to the ABVP members, the university had the protest site grilled within a couple of hours. The move came under severe criticism from students, with the former JNUSU vice-president tweeting: “JNU’s Freedom Square now equipped with a jail [sic].