Following news that Jawaharlal Nehru University has bagged the Visitor’s Award for Best Central University, the students have started an online petition urging the President to present the award to a delegation from the JNU community instead of Vice-Chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar.
‘Extremely disturbed’
The students said they were extremely disturbed by the fact that the award would be formally handed over to the V-C on March 6.
Stating that he didn’t deserve to receive the award on behalf of the entire JNU community, the students said the university has for the past year — since Prof. Kumar took over — witnessed unprecedented attacks and crackdowns on its core values.
They have requested President Pranab Mukherjee, who is the Visitor of central universities, to nominate a joint delegation comprising students, teachers, staff and workers of JNU to receive the award.
‘Unprecedented crisis’
The students claimed that within 13 days of Prof. Kumar taking over, the campus witnessed an unprecedented crisis.
They added that the Delhi Police was given a free hand to raid the campus and arrest student activists, even as the V-C didn’t demand to see the evidence or warrants before allowing such action.
They also questioned the way in which the V-C handled the situation after student Najeeb Ahmed went missing. The students alleged that the V-C played a partisan role that allegedly forced two Chief Proctors to resign.
The students also said that Prof. Kumar was instrumental in implementing the 2016 UGC Gazette Notification, which will lead to virtual dismantling of JNU research programmes.
