Proposal on special centre at JNU tabled

JNUSU opposes study of ‘Islamic Terrorism’ at Centre for National Security Studies

Thirty-three Academic Council members wrote to the JNU Registrar saying “they were shocked at the way in which the meeting was conducted, where regular council members were not allowed to speak”.

A report on the proposed Special Centre for National Security Studies was tabled at the 145th Academic Council (AC) meeting at Jawaharlal Nehru University on Friday.

The report included the study of “Islamic Terrorism” as a key area of work, which was opposed by the JNU Students’ Union.

Claiming that they were not allowed to speak at the meeting, the JNUSU said spoke out after the meeting saying that introduction of such an area of study will be “deeply problematic” as it was a “grotesque propaganda of Islamophobia in the name of academic courses”.

The JNUSU said, “The course is being introduced so that the RSS-BJP election propaganda material is prepared through these courses rather than studying the nature of terrorism in general.”

The “blueprint” for organisation of the Special Centre for National Security Studies states that it “should be an academic and research institute with complete autonomy over the agenda of its research and course curricula. The Centre seeks to focus on research activities for the first five years and then start a MA programme”.

The report says: “A premier university like JNU can impart an academic perspective to security issues challenging India and that there is a requirement that a special centre should study the nature of security threats, primarily keeping in mind the Indian conditions.”

Security challenges

The report adds that the objective of the centre would be to produce world-class security specialists who can engage with the complexity of modern day security challenges.

The AC had in its 144(A) meeting held in December 2017 had formed a committee to finalise the modalities for setting up the special centre in JNU.

On the way the AC meeting was conducted, both the JNUSU and the JNU Teachers’ Association said that although the administration had assured the High Court it would allow free and full deliberations on the matter of attendance in the AC, no deliberations were allowed, no dissent was recorded and members were not allowed to speak.

At the end of the meeting, 33 members of the AC submitted a letter to the Registrar saying “they were shocked at the way in which the meeting was conducted, where regular members of the council were not allowed to speak.”