Ill-Advised or Biased? The Tragedy of Being JNU’s Vice Chancellor

It’s easy to attach an ideological tag, but is the newly-appointed Vice-Chancellor of JNU being unfairly targeted?

Is Prof M Jagdeesh Kumar being unfairly targeted? (Photo: Image altered by The Quint)

“There are only four questions which are written here and he’s only going to answer those four questions”

The instructions were picked up by the mountain of mics stacked at Prof Jagdeesh Kumar’s press conference on Monday.

The barrage of questions were answered in a calm, collected, almost mechanical manner.

With only three weeks at the helm, Vice-Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University has been severely criticised on two fronts. One, for allowing the police on campus and in hostels. Second, for appealing to the students to not hold their protest outside the campus due to security apprehensions.

The VC has been accused of maintaining a stoic silence on Kanhaiya Kumar’s arrest. For one, the students have never seen the administration as favouring them. And two, the run up to Prof Jagdeesh’s appointment was fraught with reports of political interference from the government and the RSS.

It all began with an editorial in RSS’ mouthpiece Panchajanya, which accused JNU of being home to “a huge anti-national block which has the aim of disintegrating India”.

Then, in December, Baba Ramdev’s invitation as key note speaker at the ‘22nd International Congress of Vedanta’ was revoked after a section of students protested against his ‘scientific and academic credentials’.

There was a feeling that the government would take some action, either interfere in the curriculum or appoint a biased Vice-Chancellor who would do the bidding of the Central government. That was our fear, but we never expected such a backlash on the campus.

Happymon Jacob, Associate Professor of Disarmament Studies

The shortlisting and final selection for the VC’s position is done by a three-member committee that comprises two faculty members belonging to JNU and one member from the HRD ministry.

His appointment on January 21 was followed by questions regarding his affiliations to the RSS.

Prof Jagdeesh Kumar’s reply when asked about attending an event organised by VIjanana Bharati, an RSS-linked organisation.

Of all the names that were circulating in the run up to the announcement, Prof Jagdeesh’s was not a prominent one. He was the ‘dark horse’ and not necessarily the government’s favourite.

But to put the VC in an ideological box would be unfair at this point, several protesting students and teachers agree. But his actions have given them ample reason to remain suspicious.

The VC has been accused of not following protocol before allowing the police in. In fact, a letter from the university Registrar reads “VC grants to the police force permission to enter JNU campus if need be and as you may deem fit” – a virtual carte blanche.

A senior professor at JNU, who was suspended and banned from campus during the Emergency, claims the VC’s first reaction was to deny permission to the police. It was only when the Security Officer and the Registrar highlighted the gravity of the charges mentioned in the police complaint that the VC relented.

The decision backfired on the VC who many feel is being ‘ill-advised’.

Activists from various Hindu right-wing groups shout slogans during a protest against JNU students outside the university campus in New Delhi (Photo: Reuters)

On Thursday morning, the VC appealed to the students to confine their protest to the JNU campus, fearing a backlash from groups like the VHP that had camped outside the University gates shouting slogans like “Kill the Communists”.

The appeal was criticised by a section of students who claim that it was a pre-emptive move by the VC to look like a responsible administrator in the event of a clash with opposition groups.

A student leader at the march claims the VC had sent them SMSes the night before, reassuring them that the Delhi Police had made all security arrangements for the protest march. This could not, however, be confirmed or corroborated.

However, there’s no denying the fact that the buck stops with Prof M Jagdeesh Kumar, who to his misfortune had to hit the ground running.