The administration is defending the attackers: JNU Teachers

NEW DELHI: A day after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students were attacked by a mob allegedly belonging to the RSS and BJP-linked Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad, students and faculty have blamed the administration for “encouraging and provoking violence” against the students.

“Instead of discharging responsibility, JNU administration is encouraging and provoking violence," said Surajit Mazumdar of the JNU Teachers Association, JNUTA. "It is clear that the administration’s objective is to defend all those who did the violence. Not a single perpetrator has been caught. We reiterate our demand that the JNU Vice Chancellor must go."

The administration had earlier sent out a notice in which it accused several ‘agitating students’ of perpetrating the violence. Students of JNU have been protesting for the past two months demanding a roll back of an increase in hotel fee. The VC, M Jagadesh Kumar did not attend the meeting at the Ministry of Human Resources Development either.

On Sunday evening, January 5, a gang of men and women with their faces covered and armed with iron rods entered the university premises and attacked students and teachers. Around 34 students were admitted to the trauma unit of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, or AIIMS, following the attack, the Press Trust of India reported.

The students and teachers alleged that the ABVP members were provoking violence from the morning that day. "Later, at around 7 pm in the evening, around 50-60 people came just after the protests called by the JNUTA was over. They started swinging iron rods and pelted stones on whoever that came before them,” said Narendra Singh, a student at the Centre of Persian and Centre of Asian studies.

‘Planned assault’

The students and faculty believe that the assault was a planned one. “The goons ransacked most rooms but not ABVP students’ room saying ‘ye to apna hai (This is our kin's)’. Some of the rooms had ABVP posters on the doors but not all of them,” said a student on the condition of anonymity.

M D Danish, a member of JNUSU, added that the goons targeted JNUSU members and Muslims and did not touch ABVP rooms.

The JNU faculty also alleged that the administration aided yesterday’s attack.

“My wife who went to take a walk outside saw the goons and ran back shouting ‘ Bikram! open the door, a mob is chasing me’. Thankfully, the door was not locked and she could get inside on time,” said Bikramaditya Kumar Choudhary, assistant professor, School of Social Sciences.

“I went to the north gate to write a complaint with the security but they had me running around here and there. When I talked to the security I found that no one was assigned for shift C (at the time of the attack) so that no one was accountable,” he added.

“We women were in front trying to form a wall but they avoided and went past us. When I looked around, four or five of them were beating him (Prof.Saugata Bhaduri) up. Then one of the assailants saw his face and said ‘ye vo nhi hai, choddo ( This is not him, leave)’. That’s when I came to the conclusion that this was an organized attack,” said Sonajharia Minz who teaches in the School of Computer and Systems Sciences.

Even a blind student who was studying in his room was reportedly beaten up.

‘Not an isolated incident’

The JNUSU alleged that this was part of the Narenda Modi government’s plans to systematically attack universities which have been the rare voices of opposition against the government.

“This is not an isolated incident. Similar incidents happened in Aligarh Musllim University and Jamia Millia Islamia. Violence has been encouraged by the administration and certain professors affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)”, said Aishee Ghosh, president of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) who suffered a skull injury during the attack.

“The goons surrounded me and two other people, including my sister who had come to see me. My sister somehow escaped but around 30 people covered us. I shouted to them that they can do this and it was then that I felt the first hit by an iron rod on my head. This was followed by multiple hits,” said Ghosh.

“Every iron rod that you used on the students will be given back through debate and discussion,” she added. A large number of campuses saw students staging protests in support of JNU. A section of students from Indian Institute to Technology-Delhi held a march and issued a solidarity statement. One of them, asking not to be named, said some even wanted to apologise to JNU because the Jagadesh Kumar was a faculty-member at IIT Delhi and continues to teach there.

The JNUSU has called for a strike on January 8.

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