I Promise, ‘Apna Time Aayega’ & We Will Restore JNU’s Inclusivity

Since I was a part of the hunger strike, I would say, we have let you down.

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

Dear JNU aspirants,

We, the JNU students, are sorry.

I am a student of JNU and I am sorry to all the future aspirants who had wished and desired to study in Jawaharlal Nehru University despite the image, driven by propaganda, that has been attached to the university.

We fail you the moment we see you filling forms for the entrance exam and see the structural changes that are exclusive in nature being put into place. Students of MBA will pay Rs 12 Lakh fees for their course work in the same campus where other students are paying just Rs 280 of their course work. JNU students, after doing their MPhil, will not be sure anymore from where they would get their PhD because of the de-linking of the two courses.

Most importantly, I am sorry for students whose fault is that they did not have computers in their schools and nor do they know how to operate one, yet have to take an online examination.

We have tried to make education inclusive for all. We tried to fight against this injustice but right now the situation in our country and in JNU is such that no one in the power is ready to listen, in country the citizens are not heard and in JNU our administrative head the Vice Chancellor doesn’t listen to the students.

Since the last three years, our Vice Chancellor has continued making structural changes without listening to the students. These changes are so exclusive in nature that he may end up destroying the dreams of many aspirants who are from backward backgrounds. I believe our Vice Chancellor wants only empty buildings in the university with no students, and especially keep amenities away from those students who are marginalised. Earlier, students of JNU had consideration for the university and they felt responsible for how the planning of an inclusive policy of admission should be done so that no one is left behind. It brings me great sorrow because our vice chancellor wants to dismantle the inclusiveness of our University.

The arbitrary decisions taken by the Vice Chancellor without including the Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union, who are elected representatives of students is unfair. Guards are everywhere to stop students and union members to have any interaction with him.

It is well known that in March 2019, students protested, boycotted classes, and in the end sat on indefinite hunger strike, but still the Vice Chancellor did not care to even come to see the students. It was the JNUTA (Jawaharlal Nehru Teachers Association), who after seeing the medical condition of students on hunger strike, requested the strike be discontinued so that students aren’t harmed in any way because of the shameless administration of Jawaharlal Nehru University. Therefore after sitting on 9 long days of hunger strike, the students gave up.

Since I was a part of the hunger strike, I would say, we have let you down. Since the last five years, there hasn’t been a right time for a situation for students to be heard, but I can promise ‘apna time aayega’ and we will restore the essence of JNU which took pride in being inclusive for all.

(The author is a research scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University. All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)