Author: Aishwarya Tripathi

Bengaluru Protests: Police Outnumber Students, Detain 9 For Hours

Teresa Braggs, one of those who had been detained, said police asked her to sign on blank sheets at the station.

Bengaluru: On Tuesday, the fists of students from different colleges were seen rising at Freedom Park in Bengaluru to the slogans of ‘azadi‘ and ‘CAB down down’ to reject Citizenship (Amendment) Act and to express solidarity with Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Delhi University (DU) in their struggle against police brutality.

Police detained at least nine students. Teresa Braggs, a third year media and communication student from a women’s university in Vasanth Nagar and Anahita Ananth, along with seven more students were detained. They had showed up at Town Hall prior to the scheduled time of the protest. They were all released.

The march was organised by students who expressed strong aversion to associating themselves with political parties. Vaishnavi Suresh, who – post detention of protest organisers- stepped in last minute to lead the march explained that the protest was supposed to be originating at Mount Carmel College (MCC) but due to a denied permit it was shifted to Palace Road, where permission was again denied. She said the students then submitted an intimation letter to the District Commissioner of Police (DCP) informing about the march from Town Hall to Freedom Park at 11:4 5am – saying that the protest was not illegal. 

Bengaluru students protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Photo: Aishwarya Tripathi

“The students who showed up in the morning outside Town Hall were selectively detained by the police and the remaining were dispersed,” said one of the protesting students. He added that police, who outnumbered the protesters, had been verbally abusive to them in the local language which many in the crowd did not understand. The ones who did said police had threatened them with the prospect of putting them in jails.

The placards read – ‘We Stand With JMI Students’, ‘When Injustice Becomes Law, Resistance Becomes Duty’, ‘Reject CCA’. The sloganeering against the Citizenship Act was initiated in the beginning and quickly halted as police intervened. The silent march still continued with banners held high.

Arafad, another organiser, addressed the crowd in the park, “We know where our nation is heading, awareness is the first step for change to come.” He further iterated the slogans against communalism – to which the enthusiastic crowd responded with ‘Azadi’.

Suresh said, “We are non-violent and peaceful. We want a secular democracy which is in line with our Constitution.”

Bengaluru students protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Photo: Aishwarya Tripathi

Siddhant, a participant, expressed his solidarity with JMI students and condemned the authorities for not taking a stand against the police brutality in the capital city. Referring to the ruling regime he said, “Their agenda is out there. If one supports this government on the citizenship Act, they are fascist.” He further explained, “BJP is a lot of things but their core belief is in social hierarchies and they want to be on top.”

“It is a great thing that the government wants to bring in minority refugees to the country but why just three neighbouring countries?” questioned Aashti Kazmi, another student protestor.

She further explained, “CAA and NRC are exact fits. It is a very well-planned thing. This is a crucial time and we need to speak up. It’s pretty clear what the future will look like if this is implemented.”

Another student spoke about Monday’s protest. “Everyone was not on the same page. Also, the police formed a chain holding lathis and pushed us away at Town Hall.”

Many said that the police walking in massive troops is creating an air of fear – “What if they do something? When will they be given orders to do so?” they asked.

After reaching the Freedom Park, the police set up barricades near the exit and the leaders of the protest demanded the students stay close to the exit and not settle in the interior areas of the confined premises – fearing the brutality as has been trending in the campuses around the country.

“Look at the numbers of cops around us. Two detaining vehicles? For what?” questioned Kazmi.

She expressed distress, “This isn’t a border situation. The sensitivity between the police and citizens is lacking, which is a huge problem.”

Bengaluru students protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Photo: Aishwarya Tripathi

 “I am from Delhi and have attended most of the protests there. I know how it works in JMI, JNU and AMU but this is absurd. They just barged into the JMI and AMU, my friends there were beaten up, detained. They were just fighting for their rights and protesting.”

Braggs through her Instagram stories uploaded later in the evening shared the entire detaining incident by Bangalore Police. 

She personally confirmed that nine of the detained students had been released at around 3:30 pm. “We were detained without any reason. Just picked up by cops (who identified me by name and had a picture for reference) the moment we reached. Our phones were snatched away and we weren’t allowed to inform people,” she wrote on Instagram.

She further wrote that an inspector from JC Road station had asked them to accompany him within less than five minutes post their arrival at Town Hall.

Braggs informed that they were initially forced to sign on blank sheets, which they resisted. The inspector also pushed to sign a bond which would mean the signatory agreeing to disassociate with future protests. The detained students refused to sign this too. They also stood by maintaining no affiliation with any political parties and refused when were approached by party representatives who said they could make the release process quicker.

Post release, the detainees joined the protestors at the Freedom Park.

Bengaluru students plan to protest on Thursday at Mysore Bank Circle in even larger numbers.

Aishwarya Tripathi has worked as an editorial intern at The Wire.

MHRD Bargain Trick Fails as DUTA Demands Absorption of Ad Hoc Teachers

An MHRD/UGC committee agreed to continue ad hoc appointments till permanent faculty is recruited. However, teachers feel that is not enough.

New Delhi: On Friday, the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), decided to conduct a dialogue between the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) and the University Grants Commission to take cognisance of teachers’ demands.

The central university had witnessed a spate of protests, plus an invigilation and evaluation boycott by members of DUTA on Wednesday. The strike was against a letter circulated on August 28, 2019 by the vice-chancellor, which had a clause putting a stop to the ad hoc hiring system.

Incorporating amendments to the controversial circular of August 28, the committee agreed to continue ad hoc appointments till permanent faculty is recruited. It also granted a continuation to all ad hoc teachers who have worked or are working in the current academic year till recruitment of permanent faculty.

MHRD/UGC also agreed to the other demands such as shortlisting serving teachers for interviews, amendments to the screening criteria in the UGC Regulations 2018, accelerating halted promotions and release of additional posts for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) within 30 days without affecting ad hoc positions on account of EWS reservations.

MHRD has sent the record of the discussions between DUTA and the MHRD/UGC to the UGC and the vice-chancellor, requesting them to take further action immediately.

The DUTA Executive Council met on December 6 to discuss the ongoing movement and the response of the MHRD/UGC.

The council saluted the teachers for their unprecedented strike participation to express their anger at the alleged continuous humiliation meted out to the ad hoc staff.

While the DUTA Executive welcomed the offer made on some of the key issues, especially on issues of promotion and the August 28 letter, it has decided to ‘continue’ the protest as the MHRD/UGC has refused to give any assurances on their primary demand of the UGC Regulation for the one-time ‘absorption’ of temporary and ad hoc teachers.

Also Read: Protests Begin in Delhi University as Ad Hoc Teachers Demand Absorption

Further, there is no assurance from the MHRD on DUTA’s demand for the withdrawal of the special leave petition filed against the pensions granted to retired teachers and employees

Dissatisfied by the resolutions, the executive has decided to carry forward the movement till their demand for absorption of all ad hoc and temporary teachers on the basis of 200 point DOPT roster and Kale Committee Report is met.

Under the 200-point roster system, the entire college or university was taken as one unit, across which the reserved seats were distributed. It was ensured that out of every 200 posts, 99 posts remained reserved for SC, ST, and OBC communities, and 101 posts were unreserved. This system meant that a deficit of reserved seats in one department could be compensated by more people from the reserved communities in other departments, therefore ensuring constitutionally mandated reservation.

The council said, “We also demand that the UGC sanctions posts for self-financing courses and absorbs teachers working on these positions.”

DUTA requested the support and solidarity of various student organisations, elected students’ unions of colleges such as LSR, St. Stephen’s, Kamla Nehru, IGIPESS and the general public in support of their demands.

The DUTA Executive declared its course of action, starting with the continued indefinite strike (boycott of invigilation and all other official duties).

They also announced a public meeting outside the VC’s office on December 8, inviting ad hoc teachers and their families to narrate their experiences, followed by a march from Mandi House to Parliament Street on December 9, a staff association meeting and in-campus rally on December 10, and finally a DUTA Executive meeting followed by a general body meeting on December 15 to review and carry forward the movement.

Despite 41 Days of Protest in JNU, No Sign of Relief

The JNU Teachers’ Association has accused the MHRD of distorting facts on the fee hike in parliament.

New Delhi: On December 5, 2019, minister for human resource development Ramesh Pokhriyal responded to the Rajya Sabha over the fee hike debate in Jawaharlal Nehru University by stating that the revision in hostel charges was happening after 40 years to cover the increase in the cost of running hostels.

The first two parts of the question put by three members of the Upper House were the following: “(a) whether it is a fact that there has been a significant fee hike in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi; (b) if so, details of heads under which the fees have been increased.”

JNU Teacher’s Association (JNUTA) president D.K. Lobiyal condemned the MHRD’s response, saying it was creating a misleading impression on the reasons as well as the extent of the fee hike.

JNUTA secretary Surajit Mazumdar claimed that relevant information was partially concealed in the response.

He explained, “In addition to the room rent, even before the current revision there already existed several other heads under which students were charged – like mess bill, mess security, establishment charges, crockery and utensil charges, newspaper charges, etc. While the mess bill is as per actual cost of food and has increased enormously over the last 40 years because of rise in food prices, the university has successively increased the other charges too.”

Several charges have been doubled as recently as January 2018, JNUTA has pointed out.

Extract from the Minutes of Meeting of JNU Executive Council held on March 13, 2018

Also Read: The JNU Fee Hike Affects Students with Disabilities More Than We Realise

The revision that students are opposing includes new heads of charges – namely utility and service charges – and the major part of the increase in fees is through these heads. JNUTA believes that by levying hefty fee hikes, the university wants to shift the expenditures that have till now been its responsibility, including the salaries of hostel staff, on to the students.

Mazumdar said, “This is by no means a change that can be justified in the name of covering increases in the expenditure for running hostels.”

If what is now being proposed is implemented, the annual hostel charges paid by resident students will increase by Rs 15,600 to Rs 19,200 – which would be over and above the Rs 30,000-35,000 they were already paying. If the original intention of the vice-chancellor was carried out, the increase would be between Rs 27,600 and Rs 31,200 (and an additional increase of the refundable mess security from Rs 5,500 to Rs 12,000).

The teachers’ wing asked, “If this is not a significant hike, what is?” They called the MHRD’s response a deliberate manipulation of facts in parliament.

JNUTA demanded that the vice-chancellor be held accountable for the “misconduct” of the administration. They have also decided to raise this matter with the chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Protests Begin in Delhi University as Ad Hoc Teachers Demand Absorption

The members of DUTA stood in solidarity demanding the absorption of ad hoc teachers and said that the protest will be ongoing till the letter is withdrawn.

New Delhi: The latest in a series of protests in institutes of higher education broke out in Delhi University, circling around the job security concerns of teachers, especially ad hoc faculty members.

In other institutes such as Uttarakhand Ayurveda University (UAU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), students have been protesting against fee hikes.

On Wednesday morning, paramilitary and police forces were deployed in Delhi University. Stationed with water cannons, they watched about 5,000 members of the DU Teachers Association (DUTA) gherao vice-chancellor Yogesh K. Tyagi’s office. In a peaceful protest, the teachers, with banners, placards and slogans demanded the withdrawal of a letter circulated by the administration.

Also Read: Why are Delhi University Teachers Out on the Road?

On August 28, the VC had circulated a letter to the DU Principal’s Association (DUPA) stating that the appointment of ad hoc teachers as faculty members will be stopped. Instead, the appointment of guest lecturers – who would be paid on an hourly basis – would be encouraged. The DUTA got to know about the circular only after it was leaked on social media.

Munish Tamang, a professor from the Department of English in Motilal Nehru College explained that the DUPA has deliberately misinterpreted the letter and have jeopardised existing ad hoc faculty members. He said that while the letter spoke about halting new appointments, the principals have instead moved to terminate current ad hoc faculty too.

CRPF in huge numbers deployed in DU campus.

An ad hoc teacher said that her salary, which is usually credited on the 30th of every month, was withheld until Wednesday. Under existing DU rules, ad hoc teachers are appointed for four months and the decision to renew is taken by the administration.

Another member who faces the threat of termination said that she has been an ad hoc faculty member for 19 years. “We have to get our appointment letter renewed every 4 months, which keeps us stressed and insecure about our jobs,” said Surabhi Singhal, who teaches commerce in Ramjas College.

“We have no employee benefits. We get no maternity leave despite the law mandating it,” said another female faculty from the same college. “We can’t plan anything.”

Also Read: South African Activist Who Protested Fee Hike Supports JNU Students

The members of DUTA stood in solidarity, demanding the absorption of ad hoc teachers and said that the protest will continue until the letter is withdrawn.

Sachin Narayanan, an assistant professor of English in the Delhi University said, “The guest faculty system is casualisation of the workforce. It also has unfair terms of employment and unfair wages. It is linked to what has been happening on the campuses around us. The aim is to make education a tradable service.”

Nandita Narrain, ex-DUTA president and a mathematics professor at St. Stephens College, added that the ad hoc faculty issue is interlinked with issues emerging in JNU and other universities. “All these are steps to implement the National Education Policy, in which the government’s expenses are to be cut in the form of terminating teachers and profit to be increased in the form of fee hikes,” she said.

Meanwhile, the JNU Students’ Union and JNU Teachers Association have expressed solidarity with DUTA.

JNUTA president D.K. Lobiyal expresses solidarity with DUTA.

She said that while the rules say not more than 10% of the teaching staff should be ad hoc, it has not been followed. Narrain said approximately 50% (4,500) of the faculty members are ad hoc appointees. “They stopped making permanent appointments in 2010 without giving any reason,” she added.

Another ad hoc member, preferring to remain anonymous, said the nature of her job has put her in a precarious financial position. “I want to move to another house, but without financial stability, I cannot plan that.”

“There are teachers who have taught me and have more than 12 years of experience who are standing today protesting for the same reasons. She is drawing the same salary as I am. It’s a shame,” she expressed.

The teachers have boycotted invigilation and called for a shutdown in a barricaded area around the VC’s office. There has been no word from the VC yet in response to the protest.

“After 2000, the area around the VC’s office has been barricaded and to make it a citadel. The administration behaves in a feudal manner. This time, the barricades could not contain the anger,” said Narayanan.

Sanjay Kumar, ex-DUTA vice president, said that though the letter worked as a trigger, there has been discontent about the delay in the hiring process for a long time. “This is the first time the Delhi University has not held any dialogue. It is shameful.”

The protestors also want a proper promotion process and right rosters, which they say have been lacking for many years.

On being asked about other issues affecting the teaching staff, Tamang said, “There are teachers who have served the university for 30-40 years and their pension hasn’t been released. The ones serving for more than 12 years have not received any promotions. Higher education in India is in crisis.”

The protest continued late into the evening, with the teachers remaining adamant that until the ad hoc teachers are absorbed as permanent staff, their strike would continue.

With JNU Protests Still on, Teachers Go on a One-Day Hunger Strike

The teachers demanded an immediate resolution to the fee hike issue, before “irreparable damage” is done to the interests of students.

New Delhi: The protest which first began in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on October 28, 2019 continues as the primary demand – rolling back the new hostel manual comprising fee hikes and curfew timings for students – has not been met.

On December 4, the JNU Teacher’s Association organised a one-day hunger strike and dharna to highlight their concerns. They demanded an immediate resolution before “irreparable damage” is done to the interests of students, and also expressed solidarity with their colleagues in the Delhi University Teachers’ Association who are protesting on behalf of ad hoc teachers.

A large number of JNU teachers participated in the hunger strike and dharna throughout the day. Students and non-teaching staff also came to show their solidarity.

JNUTA president D.K. Lobiyal said, “Today, two of the major universities in the capital are in a state of turmoil. This is symptomatic of the crisis facing Indian higher education where administrators and vice-chancellors have discarded all academic, social and human considerations in favour of a purely accounting approach towards the running of their institutions.”

The teachers had organised a ‘MHRD Jawab Do’ march on December 2, 2019 to demand urgent action. The secretary of JNUTA, Surajit Mazumdar, said that the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) had refused to meet the delegation of JNU teachers.

JNUTA said, “If over 4,000 teachers are facing a severe crisis about their careers and salaries while the Vice Chancellor of Delhi University simply looks on, in JNU’s case, the VC himself is threatening to destroy the academic futures of thousands of students. Even as all of this is unfolding, the Ministry of Human Resource Development is shamefully abdicating its responsibilities and allowing VCs to get away with a complete dereliction of duty.”

In a “shocking” move, the MHRD appears to have “abandoned” its own initiative to find a resolution to the crisis through dialogue and discussion with all stakeholders, the teachers said.

The members said that the report of the MHRD’s high-powered commission which is looking into the matter has not been placed in the public domain; neither has the MHRD made clear what steps, if any, it has taken.

Lobiyal expressed concerns that this was not a conducive environment for normal academic activity, despite the scheduled end-of-semester approaching.

Also read: Why are Delhi University Teachers Out on the Road?

JNUTA raised questions on the lack of “concrete solutions” from the administration’s end for the over month-long strike. They said that the process initiated by the formation of the MHRD’s commission has been put in cold storage.

“Does it not clearly indicate that the move by the JNU VC to first illegally push through an exorbitant hike in hostel charges, then refuse to engage in any dialogue on the matter and then descend to the level of a street goon by threatening to cancel the studentship of thousands of students – has the backing of the MHRD? If so, why does the MHRD not at least show the courage to own up to the responsibility of having created an atmosphere in JNU that is completely inimical to the purposes for which the University exists,” asked the teachers’ wing.

“It is the university administration’s responsibility to ensure appropriate circumstances for teaching and examinations. Having utterly failed in its responsibility, it is seeking to transfer this to students by threatening them with its recent circulars as if this can restore normalcy,” explained one member. They insisted that the MHRD act quickly to put a check on the JNU VC and ensure an immediate withdrawal of the fee hike.

The JNUTA also appealed to MPs to raise this concern in parliament and with the MHRD, and demand answers from the ministry.

‘Question of 40% of JNU’s Future’: Day After Protests, Students Say Agitation Far From Over

“The protest symbolises that we are not dead yet,” said a PhD scholar who was injured during Monday’s police lathicharge.

New Delhi: All was quiet at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus on Tuesday, a day after the massive student protests at the AICTE auditorium. The silence, however, hardly represent an end to what the students started.

Many demonstrators expressed a sense of anger, as well as despair, while discussing the current situation. Students who have been associated with the university for almost five years were as disappointed by the steep fee hike and the way the police handled the protests, as the freshers.

“I have seen this as a space for engaging in academic debates, so it’s extremely suffocating to witness the authoritarian rule now,” said Shashi, a fifth year PhD student at the School of International Studies.

Also read: As JNU Students Continue Protest Against Fee Hike, Teachers Extend Their Support

A first-year history M.A. student, Ananya, spoke about her experience with college politics at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and how JNU held hopes of greater political participation. “I had always dream of studying at JNU. However, the idea of politics that the administration is comfortable with has changed here,” she stated.

There is no question of balking in front of the authorities, but there is a prevailing sense of doom on campus. “However, the fee hike is non-negotiable and definitely has to be declared null,” Ananya added. 


Students who come from unprivileged backgrounds are understandably wary of the draft being implemented. Here, one students says he might have to quit studies, there another wonders if both he and his sister.

Another student added,” I had cracked the IIT entrance exam but couldn’t afford the fee. JNU had accepted me then.”

JNU is witnessing a protest which looks distinctly similar to the ones that came after the 2016 sedition case detentions were made. Though there have been multiple protests regarding issues such as compulsory attendance, fund cuts in the library; they hadn’t received major media attention. Ananya believes this movement affects even more people, “That had been more against the authorities declaring people anti-national. This is different. This is about the future of almost 40% of JNU’s students.”

Another student said, “This protest is because of a direct economical impact this decision will have. It’s a battle of survival.”

The students this correspondent spoke to strongly opposed the portrayal of the protest as an act of violence perpetrated by the mainstream media. An activist said, however, that most JNU students had long stopped caring about their projected image on media.

Also watch | JNU Students Protest Fee Hike, Clashes With Police Reported

“The protest symbolises that we are not dead yet,” commented a PhD scholar who was lathicharged along with many others on Monday.

Many students criticised Vice-Chancellor M. Jagdesh Kumar’s decisions and said he had aggravated the issue. Many are expecting the issues to be addressed in the Elected Council meeting on Wednesday. All, however, were clear that the protest was necessary. 

“The time we should be utilising to focus on studies has been occupied by making posters and banners for the protest. We obviously want to get back to concentrating on academics but it’s important to fight this now,” Sai Vishwakarma, an ancient history student, said.

He added, “Incidents such as yesterday’s are impactful. Many still need to recover from their injuries,”

After a trying day outside the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), hope still prevails in campus discussions.

A former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) follower, Mandeep Kumar said he had undergone an ideological transformation after joining JNU. “Now I understand the manipulation of the right-wing,” said the student, pursuing a BA in Japanese language.

Students are also exasperated with the ‘no dialogues’ approach of the administration.

“When I had come to write my entrance exam here, the walls spoke to me in the form of posters. Eventually they took them off. The very sense of expression was killed there,” said a voice from those who gathered on campus.

Another said it frustrated her to continue with research in this campus.

“This is a tipping point for us. Nothing has been forgotten,” informed a research student.

As JNU Students Continue Protest Against Fee Hike, Teachers Extend Their Support

Students allege that police forces used excess force against them on Monday.

New Delhi: “Today is a black day for Jawaharlal Nehru University. I call it so because as a batch of students acquired their degrees, the rest were brutally manhandled by the police,” declared D.K. Lobiyal, president of the JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA).

Students protested on Monday for the 15th consecutive day, outside the AICTE auditorium where the university convocation ceremony was being held. They were agitating against a steep hike in the hostel fees at the university. According to the students and faculty members, the vice-chancellor has refused to engage with them on this issue.

During the protest, police forces used water cannons and lathis to try and disperse the student. The convocation was attended by human resource development minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu.

JNUTA members held a gathering within campus to express their solidarity with the students.

“The VC is hell-bent upon asserting his arbitrariness on every occasion. He wants to ensure that this university doesn’t cater to people who have not been historically privileged to afford higher education, which is a constitutional right,” explained Atul Sood, who teaches at the Centre for the Study of Regional Development.

“A non-cooperation movement has to be launched against the VC in all possible ways we can think of,” he said to the audience of more than 50 faculty members and 100 students.

JNUTA condemned the alleged police brutality against student protestors and demanded that the VC step down from the post. “He doesn’t deserve to be a leader of any educational institute,” said Pradeep Shinde from the Centre for Informal Sector and Labour Studies.

Watch: JNU Students Protest Fee Hike, Clashes With Police Reported

JNUTA members were critical of what they called the “illegitimate” recruitment process for faculty members, “fictitious” meeting minutes being presented, and the administrations “disregard” for institutional mechanisms.

The university gates were heavily barricaded on Monday morning to restrict a march of more than 3,000 students. Students who managed to get past the barricade were detained by the pre-deployed CRPF and police forces. The police also resorted to lathi charge and water cannons, and students allege they were beaten, manhandled and mistreated. A few were reportedly taken to a hospital because of their injuries.

“They had bamboo and fibre lathis. Fibre ones don’t show up the marks but hurt,” a student told The Wire.

“They have a certain technique to grab you which makes you defenceless,” said another.

Even after the event ended, paramilitary and police forces were deployed outside JNU campus till after midnight.

The students also claimed that some police personnel were in civil attire, and a few had duty slips with no personal information but just a sector incharge’s signature.

“I salute our students. Another day, they braved it and yet did not relent,” said Amir Ali, who teaches political science. “JNU is being demonised because it represents a force which resists the evil incarnate who does not want to run this place but rather wants to run it down.”

Authorities’ primary argument to explain the fee hike has been a funds crunch. Teachers questioned the use of funds on biometric attendance, surveillance and online entrance examinations, which replaced systems that were not broken.

When the Corridors of JNU Echoed With ‘Azadi’ Slogans Again

Students are protesting against the hostel manual draft, which hikes fees and attempts to restrict the freedom of students.

New Delhi: While the vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar was actively tweeting about Dr Vandana Mishra, associate dean of students (DoS) being held ‘captive’ in a classroom by students, he was not available to have any dialogue regarding the issues of around 8,000 students who have been actively protesting for the past ten days.

Associate DoS, Dr. Vandana Mishra who had chaired the IHA meeting for framing the hostel draft manual

Students have opposed the new hostel manual draft, which the administration plans to implement. The key concerns whirl around the unstructured hostel and mess fee hike, ‘appropriate’ dress code for students and implementation of curfew timings for hostel residents. The manual also includes clauses for individual installation of electricity and water meters for hostel rooms and a monthly service charge of Rs 1,700, which could be hiked at a later time.

According to protesting students and the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU), the hike and additional fees will directly hit 40% of economically marginalised students in the university. The implementation of curfew time of 11:30 pm will prevent students from studying in libraries.

The protests have seen a huge turnout, with students standing in solidarity with the cause, irrespective of their ideological differences.

Students say the administration’s aim is to kill the inclusive idea of the university, while encouraging a new wave of privatisation. JNUSU vice president  Saket Moon told The Wire that since the VC has come to power, “He has tried to change the very character of this space. The mechanisms have swallowed up the democratic opinions of the stakeholders of the university.” He pointed out that the idea is to treat education as a commodity, making it accessible to only a certain class and caste of society.

Students outside Narmada Hostel protesting.

Also Read: What Happens in Education in the Name of ‘Eminence’

JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh was actively handling the crowd in the vicinity of the classroom where the protestors were expecting an answer from Dr Mishra, who had chaired the decision-making in Inter-Hall Administration (IHA) meeting for the hostel manual. Speaking to The Wire, she said the VC’s tweet about the DoS being held captive was false portrayal. “We questioned her on the manual and what is at stake for the university. She responded with a long silence,” Ghosh said.

She added that Mishra asked students from marginalised sections to look for alternatives. Her statements were confirmed by Moon, who claimed to have audio recordings.

The draft was framed without any consultation from the student committee and was released on October 3, asking for suggestions. Before the IHA meeting, initially scheduled on October 18, more than 3,000 students sent an e-mail rejected the manual. The meeting was then postponed to October 28. Students believe that this was done to ensure a weaker opposition, as many left for Diwali holidays.

The administration did not invite the JNUSU to participate, but the representatives entered anyway, declaring the practice as illegal. Sighting the protest, the meeting was postponed to afternoon and a 140-page document deciding the right to education of close to half of the academic strength was concluded in ten minutes.

JNU students making posters to showcase the protest. Photo: The Wire/Aishwarya

“We want the administration to declare this as null and void, and initiate a fresh discussion with the students committee. We have made multiple attempts to reach out to them but the bridge of dialogue has being completely burnt down,” said Moon.

An ABVP supporter explained their absence from the admin block area of protest saying, “We are completely against the new hostel draft and we were with this way of protesting until a week back but now we are against the approach.”

He continued, “The symbolic protest of going to the police station to lodge a missing VC FIR looks like a mockery to me. We believe in solutions.”

On asking about his idea of solutions, he spoke about contacting the municipal corporation and the Delhi government to ease the electricity and water bills and house tax on the university. He also mentioned that rather than targeting the administration, the ABVP wants to find the source of the problem. “We want to urge the government to maintain the distinctiveness of JNU in the country and reconsider any policy which attacks the culture of the institution.”

Satish, general secretary of the JNUSU, responded to the ABVP’s statement by saying that the administration should be the coordinating channel between the students and higher authorities. He said boycotting an active protest shouldn’t be the way to express disagreement with approach.

Students asking the VC to either Reject or Resign.

Regarding the duration of the protest, he commented, “It’s a situation of do or die for many here. If this hostel manual isn’t discarded, this would mean abandoning of academics by a huge marginalised section and it’s extremely unfortunate.”

He also condemned the patriarchal approach by the authorities to govern the freedom of students. Quoting ‘appropriate dress’, which hasn’t been defined, is being viewed as a regressive ideology. The university has never had the concept of curfew timings in the past and its library has been accessible for 20 hours a day (8 am-4 am). A student spoke about the new tradition of locking up parts of the university based on time slots and ‘raiding’ hostels at odd times as restricting the freedom of students and an attempt to target visiting students.

Ex-JNUSU president Geeta Kumari said the hostel draft manual is built upon the idea of ‘the rich remain rich and the poor remain poor’. She, along with others, said the protests would continue until the manual is rolled back.

“Across the world, we can see an agenda to kill cultural, academic and educational spaces, to suppress discussion of ongoing affairs. They fear that our education will make us question them and questions scare them,” said a student of international studies.

The unanimous stand against the VC’s statement of ‘innocent students not being able to study’, was that only administrative activities have been prohibited, whereas lectures are being taken in open grounds.

There has been zero communication from the VC, which appears to be a strategic move to smother the enthusiastic protests. But the move has not had the desired effect, with the hallways of JNU echoing with slogans of ‘Inqilab Zindabad’ and ‘Azadi’ even past midnight.

Students on a sit down protest outside administration block.

“Education can’t be sold based on the purchasing power of a student,” said Shashi, a PhD student who has spent five years on the campus. He is adamant to save the essence of inclusiveness of a public university. He added, “This isn’t like any other protest in the past: against attendance or being called anti-national. We are fighting a real attack.”

Contrary to the protests in the past which were perception oriented, the current movement is only policy-based. The present anticipated zeal is distress, rage and hope amongst JNU students, who are awaiting and demanding only a process of communication with the authorities for almost a fortnight. Students, irrespective of their socio-economic background, are participating in the protest.

Aishwarya Tripathi is an editorial intern with The Wire.

Sudipta Sengupta’s Journey in Geology to the Ends of the Earth

The government established the Geological Survey of India in 1851 but geology remained the preserve of men until the 1990s.

New Delhi: “She was one of the first women, along with Aditi Pant, to set foot on Antarctica.”

This is how Chandrima Shaha, an eminent biologist and soon to be the first female president of the Indian National Science Academy, introduced the geologist Sudipta Sengupta.

The occasion was a forum entitled ‘Women in Science and Technology’ at the India International Centre, New Delhi, on October 31.

Shaha proceeded to recount Sengupta’s accomplishments as a geologist in the 1980s, a time when women were discouraged from undertaking field-work.

Sengupta, a guest speaker at the event, began by quoting Eleanor Roosevelt: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” – an idea she said she believed in throughout her journey.

The government established the Geological Survey of India in 1851, and the country’s first geology department emerged at the Presidency College in Calcutta in 1892. However, until as late as the 1990s, geology in India remained the preserve of men. Male teachers even discouraged female students from accompanying them on field trips.

But Sengupta herself decided to study geology instead of physics after speaking to a professor at Jadavpur University, at least in part because she loved to travel.

She is from a middle-class progressive Bengali family and, in her telling, considers this background her foundation.

In her work as a structural geologist, Sengupta has studied the formation and deformation of rocks, using the results to compose what she called the “story of a region”.

To help with her work as well as to further her dreams, she studied at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling, training under Tenzing Norgay, one of the first two men to scale Mt Everest in 1953.

Sengupta also remembered her mentors: Subir Ghosh, her PhD supervisor; Janet Watson, her postdoc mentor; and Jonn Ramsay and Hans Ramberg. After studying under their guidance, she joined Jadavpur University as a professor in 1982.

“For the first 15 years of my life, there were hardly any woman in the class – in most of the years none,” she said. The principal barrier was that the university wasn’t prepared to accommodate women during field-trips. It was only after 1996 that the fraction of female students improved, nearing a third.

“In our times, it was terrible. We stayed in dharamshalas and sometimes huts. Now the situation is far better.”

She feels safety has moved in the opposite direction: “It was better in our times. I did my PhD studies alone and travelled through remote places with bad roads and no communication, but I never felt unsafe. These days, I wouldn’t dare to send a girl alone for field work.”

But the advent of satellite-based navigation has been helpful. “We never had GPS. It was terrible to spend time to find our geological location. Technology is a tremendous help.”

Apart from the virtues of getting one’s hands dirty, Sengupta also remembers field work for the other things it taught her. Her work on the Scandinavian Caledonides, an ancient mountain range on the Scandinavian Peninsula, showed her for example that “people are the same everywhere. They are basically good and basically helpful” – even if “to see an India girl moving around with a hammer was very new for them.”

“Those days we used to dream in remote corners, in our tents, to someday visit Greenland or Antarctica. I never thought that dream would come true.”

It wasn’t easy, of course. Geology’s prejudices extended to the land as well. “Antarctica was also a male bastion,” Sengupta said. “Women scientists weren’t allowed there before 1956.”

She remembers men joking about what a woman would do without a beauty parlour on the icy continent. The Soviet marine geologist Maria Klenova became the first female scientist to visit Antarctica in the mid-1950s.

In 1982, Sengupta volunteered to join an Indian expedition to Antarctica but her application was rejected because she was a woman. “All your life you are [ignored for] important responsibilities. You just have to work hard,” she told The Wire.

The next year, the government invited her to an interview and then sent her to train in Kargil. She would travel to Antarctica in 1983 and again in 1989.

“Both times, we travelled on ship. It took about a month to [get] there.” She recalled how the continent appeared in front of them like a swathe of crystalline ice that could cut through ship like paper. Once they were on land, the crew had to get to work in the face of powerful blizzards and a Sun that never set.

And since 1983, women have been going on Antarctic expeditions every year, Sengupta told The Wire. Women have also made up “30-40%” of the expedition crew.

In recognition of her work “in interpreting the deformation of boudinage layers as well as pebbles in conglomerates by application of theoretical and experimental modelling and field testing,” she was awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 1991.

“I come from the land of Durga. We worship Durga and as a child I believed that she lived in Kailash. Now, I know that Durga lives in us, in all women.

Are We Paying Enough Attention to India’s Hunger Problem?

According to the 2019 Global Hunger Index, India has been ranked 102 out of 117 countries in terms of severity of hunger.

New Delhi: “I eat one meal and drink water whenever I feel hungry. We don’t have money. We never have money,” a five-year-old girl who lives on the streets of Delhi, near Munirka, told The Wire.

According to the 2019 Global Hunger Index, India has been ranked 102 out of 117 countries in terms of severity of hunger.

Nutrient deprivation in children decreases immunity, making them unlikely to survive diseases that are otherwise treatable. “By saying that children are the future of the country, the issue gets diluted. They are the present too and we need to intervene now to secure their future, “said Dr Antaryami Dash, a nutrition expert at Save the Children.

Vinod Paul, a member of NITI Aayog, said after the GHI’s release, “Only a part of child mortality is related to nutrition but the causes of under 5 mortality are diseases, per say diarrhoeal diseases, pneumonia, new born diseases, which have nothing to do with nutrition.” He repeatedly emphasised that food security is not a fundamental problem, but is about people’s behaviour.

Dash, however, said, “The immediate impact of malnutrition is child mortality.” He referred to a Lancet series to say that globally, malnutrition is the cause of at least 45% of child mortality, while in India this number is 68.2%.

According to UNICEF, a third of the world’s malnourished children live in India.

Dash added that in terms of burden, the hotspots of malnutrition are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, which contribute to more than 50% of the country’s malnutrition, stunting and wasting.

Malnutrition is a multi-faceted problem, so several co-related factors need to be dealt with. “Malnutrition is not something like floods or droughts; it’s not acute. We are facing chronic malnutrition, so we need chronic attention to be paid as well,” pointed out Dipa Sinha, a Right to Food Campaign activist and a faculty at Ambedkar University, Delhi, in context with the lack of addressing the issue.

“It’s not entirely true to say that we have slipped. The rank numbers are changing because of change in methodology. What’s more important is where we are and who are we lagging behind? In South Asia, India is the worst,” stated Sinha.

“If you look at the countries mapped around the same level as India in the report; they are war torn, civil riots prone, no democracy kind of countries. Clearly something is really a miss. And we are not doing enough,” she added.

Dash’s expressed a similar opinion: “The GHI score and methodology discourages to do a time series comparison.”

A disinterested government

“Though the past government didn’t do enough ground work, the process completely got cut off in the present government regime. The good thing about the launch of Poshan Abhiyan is that it is creating a lot of noise but what is happening on the ground?” asked Sinha. She recommended not considering the method of adding nutrients to a single food source, for example inducing vitamins, minerals and supplements in wheat flour, over a balanced diet.

Dash seemed to agree.”Poshan Abhiyan was launched in 2017. There has been a reduction in the level of child malnutrition based on CNSS but NITI Aayog should face the fact that with the present reduction rate, we will be way off track from the targets.”

The government has launched campaigns but has failed to institute a concrete policy, the experts said. For example, in Karnataka, 48,000 anganwadi workers haven’t been paid for four months.

“The anganwadi team are called volunteers and aren’t given an employee status. They are paid a minimal salary and are expected to take part in anganwadi centres as an extension to their motherhood, so gender inequality sitting becomes a core issue,” explained Sinha.

The GHI reports for 2019 were declared on October 16, the same the day when Supreme Court reserved its verdict after a 40-day hearing about the Ayodhya controversy. The headlines were largely about the verdict, and news of the GHI slipped many people’s attention.

“They can pretend that things are great because they are great for some people. That’s where media comes into picture. You have to keep bombarding such news, it has to make front page news. It has to stop presenting this issue with a perspective of mere a behavioural problem of the undernourished,” said Sinha on being asked about the role of media for such issues.

She further added, “The media creates a public opinion. The people who read the newspapers are not malnourished but they are the people who are opinion makers, so it needs to come out to capture attention and demand public action.”

Basic problem solving

In spite of intervention from the Supreme Court in response to PILs and government’s role in framing various welfare campaigns, there is much scope for improvement. The anganwadi set-up, for instance, is the world’s largest early childhood development scheme. But as Sinha and Dash pointed out, the scheme’s implementation needs to be formalised and more money injected into the system.

Mid-day meals in government schools also often fail to meet the set standards of nutritional values. The community kitchens introduced to make a basic balanced meal accessible to the poor might have at times led to diseases and infections due to compromised hygienic conditions.

Sinha suggested a few basic steps to take based on her experience. She emphasised providing maternity entitlements to women irrespective of their profession and eliminating the limitation of claiming it for the first birth only. She also said the conversion of a few anganwadi centres into anganwadi-cum-creches would reduce the burden for mothers. Additionally, improving the supplementary nutrition in anganwadi and take-home rations, better sanitation facilities and healthcare could help fight malnutrition.

Contrarily, Dash said that a lot of comprehensive solutions have come up in India but rigorous implementation and accountability at every level needs to be ensured, so the reinforcements should happen at the lowest administrative level.