Delhi police's letters reveal VC's reluctance on dialogue with JNU Students

JNU students are protesting against hostel fee hike since October 28 last year but the administration could not engage them in meaningful dialogue.

As the investigation into the violence on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus on January 5 is proceeding, new shreds of evidence are surfacing. Now, it has come to light that Delhi police had written four letters to JNU administration before the violence asking them to have a continuous dialogue with the protesting students.

“The students are demanding a dialogue with the JNU administration, but no such initiative has yet been taken” by the varsity and due to this the “students are very much agitated”, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Vasant Kunj Police Station had written in a letter to the Registrar of the university. In the letter, the SHO had also referred to another protest by the students on November 9 and emphasized that no one from the JNU administration came to meet the students. The police officers had also cautioned the JNU administration about major law and order issues created by students when they were stopped during a protest on November 18. In the letter, the police officer had emphasized the need for regular dialogue between JNU administration and students.

It is pertinent to mention that the protesting students have been alleging the unwillingness of dialogue on the part of JNU administration. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has also directed the Vice-Chancellor Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar to initiate dialogue with students and faculty members to win over their confidence. This was further reiterated by the ministry officials after January 5 violence on the campus. 

However, the Vice-Chancellor is stick to the decision of implementing a fee hike with partial rollback but the students are demanding complete rollback of the hostel fee hike. After the violence on the campus, the JNU Teachers' Association (JNUTA) also joined the movement and is now demanding the removal of the VC.