Tuesday will mark a month since Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Najeeb Ahmed went missing from campus. To mark the day and intensify its demand for justice for Najeeb, the JNU Students’ Union has called for a “Chalo JNU” procession and protest meeting.
After country-wide protests, that included burning the effigies of Vice-Chancellor Jagadesh Kumar and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh over the weekend, the JNUSU has invited students and groups from across the country to participate in the programme that will start at Ganga Dhaba at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
Various organisations on campus, like the Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA) and Democratic Students’ Union(DSU), appealed to the JNUSU to issue an ultimatum to the university administration.
In case the administration fails to meet these demands by 5 p.m on Tuesday, they have urged the JNUSU to take a call for blockade of the administration block.
The students feel this is the only way to make the administration accountable and to break the prevailing normalcy on campus.
They said their demands have been the same for a month — take effective steps to find Najeeb, file an FIR regarding the violence that was perpetrated on Najeeb and declare the students who attacked him out of bounds.
The students alleged that even the Proctorial inquiry report, which was supposed to have delivered its sentence 10 days ago, has not been made public to the student body nor given any concrete assurance.
Over the past month, there have been protests outside the Delhi Police headquarters, Vasant Vihar police station, India Gate, Jantar Mantar and the campus, with Najeeb’s family joining the students in their demand for justice. Najeeb’s mother had said during an interaction with journalists that she had lost all faith in JNU administration.
Registrar issues circular
Meanwhile, the JNU administration issued a circular warning students of disciplinary action against those who have been “repeatedly violating university rules by staging protests, sit-ins and confinement of officials”. The “rule-breaking students” have been asked to immediately desist from such acts.
The circular, issued by the Registrar, said: “It has come to the notice of the administration that the JNUSU has given a call for a protest gathering at Ganga Dhaba on Tuesday without prior permission from the university. A large number of outsiders are expected to participate in this gathering, which may create unrest and pose a security threat to the campus. Hence, JNUSU is advised not to hold this gathering. Democratic rights of dissent and lawful protests by JNU students are permitted on campus. However, organisers of such events must inform the administration and take necessary prior approval. In the light of recent happenings, this is of utmost importance to maintain the safety and security of the campus.”
The circular added that the administration had received several complaints about outsiders coming in and staying the night at Students Activity Centre in Teflas during such events. It advised JNUSU to discourage such activities.
