JNU Students Go on Indefinite Hunger Strike

Twenty students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, including students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar have sat on an indefinite hunger strike starting 27, April 2016 protesting the actions taken by the High Level Enquiry Committee (HLEC) and demanding revocation of punitive action.

The enquiry committee on April 25th fined Kumar of Rs. 10,000 and suspended 3 students, including Umar Khalid and Anirban for various durations.  Besides, fines have been levied on 14 others, hostel facilities of two students were withdrawn and the campus had been declared out of bounds for two former students.

The indefinite hunger strike began after a large number of students; led by the Jawaharlal Nehru Students Union (JNUSU) took out a torchlight procession on Wednesday night (27, April, 2016).

The torchlight procession that started from the Ganga Dhaba was led by the JNUSU office bearers. The march culminated at the Administrative block which has been renamed as the freedom square. The JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar while addressing the gathering of students pointed out lapses in the enquiry committee report.  He mentioned that the HLEC had regularly failed to fulfill their demand of sectional representation in the probe team. Along with it the students mainly Umar and Anirban did not get chance to appear before the committee. The HLEC took actions on them while they were in jail which is violation of the fundamental rights. He added that, “the Vice Chancellor is acting on diktats of the MHRD and the government.” Pointing out violation of the JNU constitution, the JNUSU president said that the current administration was hampering the democratic nature of the university which is a direct blow to the JNU constitution.

“The JNUSU call for the indefinite and relay hunger strike simultaneously is not merely for expressing anger against the HLEC or revoking of the actions, “he added. The hunger strike, according to the JNUSU president is also for, “raising demand for hostels, deprivation points, mess, and other such basic needs of the students. The core idea of the strike is to preserve the democratic spirit of JNU”.

"We have been maintaining right from the beginning that we have no faith in the probe committee, . the inquiry was a sham," said JNU Students Union General Secretary Rama Naga. He added that, the strike is being done to expose the administration which has been acting not on behalf of the students but the MHRD.

Kanhaiya Kumar, JNUSU President, Rama Naga, General Secretary, JNUSU, Umar Khalid ,Shweta Raj, Chintu Kumari, Anant Prakash Narayan, Sabroni Ahmed, Aqsa Asger, Nitisha Kholkar, K. Feyaz Ahmed, Pratim Ghoshal, Anand, Pankhuri Zaheer, Samanth Singh, Sunaina , G. Suresh, Birendra, Awadesh, Sanjeev and Parthipan have decided to sit on indefinite hunger strike.

Photo Courtesy: V.Arun Kumar