JNU students’ hunger strike enters fifth day over campus issues

Three office-bearers of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) and 14 students on Thursday entered the fifth day of their indefinite hunger strike against what they described as an “attack on public universities”, raising concerns over restrictions on student protests and infrastructure-related issues on the campus. 

The students have opposed provisions of the Chief Proctor Manual that prescribe stringent penalties for holding gatherings and protests. 

All four JNUSU office-bearers were rusticated for two semesters in February, three of whom are participating in the hunger strike. 

JNUSU general secretary Sunil Yadav said, “Our major demands include renovation of the crumbling infrastructure on campus. We also want the administration to bring back the university’s internal entrance examination system as the centralised testing causes a lot of delays.” 

He added that the students were also demanding the revocation of the rustication notices issued in February this year. 

In September, the union said that a ceiling fan had fallen in a hostel room. Its demands include renovation and upgrading of hostels, expansion of library seating capacity, functional lifts, repair of campus roads, renovation of stadiums and construction of gender-neutral washrooms. 

The students alleged that doctors at the university’s health centre were not monitoring the health of the three office-bearers because of their rustication, and that their health was being monitored privately. The other students on hunger strike have been undergoing regular health check-ups, with some recording low blood sugar levels. 

University officials have not yet responded to their demands.