Why Is The Administration So Afraid Of JNU Students? We Just Want To Talk To You

The revivalist-nationalist leader Lokmanya Tilak’s in his famous editorial said, “सरकारचे डोके ठिकाणावर आहे का?”

After 130 years, it still resonates as a scathing critique of colonial governance. Apart from his role in the nationalist struggle, Tilak was also known for his mediatised ‘myth-making’ abilities. While he questioned the autocracy of the regime, contemporary media uses ‘mouthpiece editorialisation’ for a completely different purpose – of scoring political talking points for their respective affiliations. JNU has been central to such media debates. Today, in the age of post-truths, JNU administration is engaged in myth-making with the help of ‘Godi-media’ and Whatsapp University.

But before we get to that, here is some context. Recently, seven chairpersons and one dean were removed for not implementing the compulsory attendance norm. One of the officials said, “If somebody says they cannot implement a rule, they are defying authority.” Acting deans and chairpersons were randomly appointed. Hon’ble VC, would you be okay with it, if a doctor switches roles with a philosopher or vice versa? Both have equally complicated jobs, where being is at stake. If not, then why should students be okay with someone who is appointed as dean but has no clue about the discipline?

Myth No. 1- Vivas Are Not Being Conducted.

https://twitter.com/registrarjnu/status/975301851858927617

Truth – Vivas are being conducted, but the authority of the new ‘Achche Dean’ can be questioned.

Here is how students responded to that tweet:

Myth No. 2 – Students Turn Violent And Resort To Hooliganism

Truth – Here are videos which tell you otherwise. Students of the Centre for Historical Studies (CHS), SSS, resisted the arbitrary move of the Dean of Students (DoS) Kadam’s appointment. He was trying to take charge as their new acting head. However, he could not break the resolve of the students.

The students tried to give Kadam a letter protesting his appointment, but he did not accept it. Kadam was given the charge overnight by the JNU administration. Working overtime into the wee hours of the morning is a novel practice recently adopted by the otherwise indolent administration.

Earlier, whenever students protested, especially in the past two years, the administration often switched off the electricity, or employed surveillance. This year, the Hon’ble VC even got a ruling from the Delhi court banning any protest activities within 100 metres of the administration building. Around this time last year, after a number of cases were filed from JNU, the judge asked the administration – why had there been ’92 protests on the campus’ in the past nine months? Isn’t it cowardice that the Hon’ble VC ran away from students who kept waiting for him all day and night to ask questions on many different issues? The administration must ask itself, why has it driven students to lock down their own schools? One may ask – why is the administration so afraid of JNU students? We just want to talk to you.

The main relationships that one has during their MPhil/PhD writing stage is with the school and the supervisor. The administration can try to ensure there is no violation, but to issue ‘farmans‘ on attendance is bizarre. The administration does not, and cannot, know everything about the entire student bodies’ academic work, their potential or the progress of their research. Only the supervisor and other faculty members in a centre or school can know what goes into a particular project because they are the subject experts. Reasonable checks and balances regarding a student’s performance have always existed.

Let us ask practical and logistical questions. Is attendance more important than the quality of our work? Since the JNU administration has not provided hostel accommodation for all, one may also ask, what about students from marginalised backgrounds staying far away from campus? Should they come daily to register their attendance? There are doctoral candidates who are married or have young children and are still committed to the completion of their PhDs – does the administration want to discourage them from pursuing a PhD? Does the administration also want students to mark attendance when they are ill? Will the administration allow them to access health centres only after the attendance norms are met?

There is a peculiar sense in which ‘governmentality’ and red-tapism functions through scepticism, where we have to constantly prove that we are not doing anything illegal. In one instance, our beloved VC called a hunger strike ‘illegal’ and added that it was ‘bordering on unconstitutional’. At a certain point, these words have to mean something.

One can claim the recent attacks on deans and chairpersons are something of the same make – where procedures are not followed and discretionary powers are used to serve the political clout of the VC. The agendas of compulsory attendance, the misreading of the UGC’s student-teacher ratio clause, the devaluation of GSCASH, different voices not being heard in the Academic Council and Executive Council, and being termed as ‘bordering on unconstitutional’. Let us not even discuss that the Constitution of India – even the JNU Act, 1966 – is not being followed.

But new ordinances keep coming up every day. Who do we turn to when the person who instates the law is not looking out for us? It is only under the current administration that one has encountered the absurd practice of not putting out lists of students who have cleared the entrance exam. The administration’s lack of transparency is questionable, its implementation of rules and regulations is abominable, and its anti-student agenda is deplorable. Needless to say, the administration is doing very little about Atul Johri’s case, which is trending on our VC’s favorite Twitterverse.

Our access to the hostels, health centre, and food will be taken away from the next semester if we don’t sign our attendance this time around. Our scholarships are never released on time, but now, we have an obligation to pay our mess dues by the 24th of each month. Otherwise, we could be charged ₹20 daily, perhaps with a compound interest. Are these modern-day ‘sahukars’ going to stop somewhere? We attend several conferences, lectures and workshops because of our individual academic interests, without any impositions. So this empty rhetoric of accountability and cheap gimmickry of Twitter melodrama by the administration must end.

What about the accountability of the JNU administration? What do those authorities do when Najeeb goes missing? Or regarding Krish’s death? Does it not care if a student lives or dies? For the past year, how many times did the Hon’ble VC meet Krish’s or Najeeb’s parents? Recently, a government study showed a rise in the number of student suicides. One student dies every hour. Isn’t this more important than regulating the attendance or closing JNU dhabas at 11 in the night? If the dropout rate being high is a concern, then what has this JNU VC and his bandwagon done to remedy it? I can tell you what it has done – it has lowered the number of seats… no no hang on… it has ‘adjusted’ the seats according to ‘due rules and policies’. They have a unique way of solving the drop out issue, they just admit lesser students every passing year.

A prominent lawyer, who has often sided with the JNU administration in the recent TV debates, read out an ordinance regarding the attendance issue and asked why faculty members are not taking attendance. The lawyer never read out when these changes were made or mentioned the ordinances and who made them. The biased hashtag that the media channel ran was #JNUrighttobunk.

Let us make a correction to that #JNUrighttoacademicfreedom. We debate, discuss and demand thorough engagement with our teachers. We fight tooth and nail for our arguments, while they are respectful of our opinions and treat us as adults. This stupid assault on us and our teachers, on our academic freedom, by the administration is not for any accountability but rather, to further fuel the egotistical minds behind these machinations. What else would make teachers go on a hunger strike? With its lack of empathy and its crass attitude towards students and teachers, the JNU administration has truly lost its mind. Hon’ble VC, you cannot colonise our minds.

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Image source: SAA Talks Back/Facebook