Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Central Library was renamed Dr B. R. Ambedkar Central Library amid protests and sloganeering by students on Friday.
Students who were holding a dharna outside the building stormed into the library during the function saying that although they have no problem with the administration renaming the library, they had an issue with the JNU administration-MHRD-UGC nexus trying to destroy Dr. Ambedkar’s message of ‘Educate, Agitate, Organise’.
“By reducing the intake of research scholars, they have destroyed the dreams of many students looking for a good education. Also, over the past year, they have banned and criminalised agitations. They have also successfully spread misinformation to divide student organisations,” said JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU), which led the protest.
‘Warm protest’
Initially, Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar was supposed to inaugurate the revamped library and the students had prepared to welcome him with a “warm protest” and questions on “seat-cut” and attacks to shutdown and change the inclusive policies of JNU.
However, the Minister's participation was reduced to a video message in which he told students to remember that it was the “poor, tax-paying people of the country due to which their education was being subsidised and that in whatever career they choose, they should aim towards giving back to society.”
To add to the drama of the event, the power went off while the video message was being played.
Once the electricity was back and the event continued, students from outside stormed the hall a few minutes later to interrupt the speech delivered by chief guest Milind Kamble, chairman of the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
The JNUSU said that Mr. Javedekar did not turn for the event as he did not want to face the questions from students.
They said that the current ruling dispensation was known for its “numerous gimmicks, which create the false impression that the government is concerned about the poor and deprived, while in actuality, its policies systematically ensure further marginalisation and deprivation of the poor”.
“By renaming the library, the administration wants to portray themselves as champions of social justice despite every act of them going against the dreams and philosophy of Dr. Ambedkar. This hypocrisy has to be resisted tooth and nail,” said the JNUSU.
Support from JNUTA
The teachers also joined the protests outside the library with, JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) stating that it can only see the decision to rename the JNU library as “hypocrisy”.
“At a time when JNU has, with the blessings of the HRD Ministry, slammed the doors of higher education on the faces of hundreds of Dalit and other socially disadvantaged students, when students’ fellowships are withheld and they are denied food in the messes, when their demands for substantive social justice is met with either proctorial enquiry or FIR, renaming a library is an exercise in cynicism and nothing more,” JNUTA said.
