JNU: Timeline of campus activism

February, 2016: A cultural evening was organised by some students inside Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus on February 10 against execution of separatist leader Maqbool Bhat and Afzal Guru, and for Kashmir’s right to self-determination. Anti-India slogans were reportedly raised at the protest meet. On February 14, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh alleged that the JNU incident had the support of Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed. Delhi Police arrested the JNU Students’ Union President Kanhaiya Kumar on charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy.

January, 2016: Students in the Hyderabad University campus erupted in protest demonstrations soon after the news of Dalit research student Rohith Vemula’s suicide broke. The immediate target of their anger were Vice Chancellor (VC) Appa Rao and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Bandaru Dattatreya. The administrative action against Vemula had followed after these two wrote to Union Minister of Human Resources Development Smriti Irani to inform her of the “anti national” activities allegedly going in the university and asked her to look into the matter. Vemula committed suicide after his rustication allegedly at the behest of Irani.

December, 2015: As protests by students erupted over the Centre’s stand on the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), VC Zameeruddin Shah called upon the students not to get unduly exercised on the issue and have “full faith” in judiciary. The issue of restoration of minority character of AMU is at present pending with the Supreme Court but what has triggered off the protests is the Centre’s recent decision to reverse the previous government’s stand of supporting the university in the apex court on this issue.

December, 2015: National Students Union of India (NSUI), the youth wing of the Congress, and some Left wing students protested for days outside Delhi University main campus against BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s lecture on the Ram Janmabhoomi temple issue. The two-day seminar titled “Shri Ram Janma Bhoomi Temple: Emerging Scenario” was organised by Arundhati Vashishtha Anusandhan Peeth (AVAP), a research organisation founded by late Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Ashok Singhal. Swamy lashed out at those opposing the seminar in Delhi University campus and dubbed them as “intolerant” even as the students and teachers continued to stage protests.

November, 2015: Voices of resistance grew louder against Prime Minister Narendra Modi as students of Jamia Milia Islamia University protested against him being invited as the chief guest for their upcoming convocation. Among the reasons they cited was what Modi reportedly said about the University some eight years ago: “doob maro (go drown)”. The remark was occasioned by the so-called Batla House encounter of September 2008 between the Delhi Police and terrorists where two Jamia students were arrested on alleged terror links.

June, 2015: Students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) continued their strike for almost 150 days opposing the appointment of television actor Gajendra Chauhan as head of the Institute. They were also up in arms against four of the eight members appointed as member of the governing council under ‘Persons of Eminence’ category. All four had strong Hindu right wing connection.

September, 2014: The “Hok Kolorob” movement was a series of protests by the students of Jadavpur University in Kolkata, that began on September 3, 2014. Literally “let there be cacophony” in Bangla language, the term “Hok Kolorob” was originally the title of a song by Bangladeshi singer Arnob. On September 16, 2014, peaceful demonstrations by students took place in front of the administrative building of the University, demanding an investigation into the molestation of a female student. Following several unsuccessful attempts at dialogue with the authorities, the students blocked the way of VC Abhijit Chakrabarti who called the police. The subsequent police brutality unleashed upon the students triggered a wave of protests which continued for several months.