Will Our Hunger Strike Finally Get the JNU VC to Listen to Us?

My name is Qasim Masumi, and I am a student of JNU MPhil first year. I am sitting on an indefinite hunger strike just to talk to our vice chancellor. The VC has not listened or spoken to us (the students) in the past three years.

All I want to say to him (VC) is that he cannot destroy our JNU any further. We have realised that our VC can do no good to our university. We believe, he was sent here only to destroy what the university stands for. But now, it’s the time to fight back against the vice chancellor.

We, the  students, who are on hunger strike have put our lives at stake and the VC has ignored our demands. Students’ health have deteriorated since they have been on hunger strike since the past nine days.

Aishe Ghosh, SIS Convener (School of International Studies), suffered from low BP, low sugar level and irregular heartbeat. She was taken to the hospital several times, also Kriti Roy, SSS Convener fainted twice during the hunger strike. A few more suffered from Jaundice and Hepatitis B, but our vice chancellor was not concerned and still did not even meet us even once.

On the day of Holi, we tried to speak to the VC at his residence where he was celebrating the festival with other high level administrative officers of JNU. The VC offered us some sweets and when we reminded him of our hunger strike, he shamelessly asked us to eat and leave his house. Imagine, this is how we are being treated in JNU.

JNU struggles to remain as one of the important landmark for higher education in India. It is because of JNU’s model of affordable and quality education, deprivation points and residential facilities that students from across the country come to study here.

Since the last five years, students across the nation have faced innumerable attacks on higher education. Right from the fund-cut and push towards privatisation of the higher education to muzzling of dissent in education spaces, the government has set a new low of attacks to dismantle the quality of higher education.

The government wants to make higher education accessible only to the ruling class. So we believe, this is the reason, why they are keen to destroy our unique admission policy. With an introduction of online MCQ entrance examination, abolishing BA second year lateral entry, delinking MPhil and PhD, abolishing deprivation points and introducing exclusive admission policy for MBA with exorbitant fees structure.

The VC has put our lives in jeopardy. The insensitive behaviour of his towards the students is highly disappointing.

So we, the students, will fight together and set our voyage for a new dawn – where students from across the country – will be welcomed in JNU with their higher vibrant and diversified ideas.

Let this battle against fascism be won!

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