Hunger strike at JNU enters 6th day, health of students deteriorate: JNUSU

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) has been staging an indefinite hunger strike, which entered its sixth day on Saturday with the health of several protestors deteriorating, according to the students body.

The students have been protesting on the campus against purported unresponsiveness of the JNU administration over their charter of demands since August 11.

When contacted, JNU Vice-Chancellor Santishree D Pandit said the varsity does not have a notified students union and that some of the demands raised by the protesting students cannot be accepted due to a funding crunch, while others require the court's intervention and are beyond her authority.

"There is no officially notified students union in the JNU currently. So, they should first go and get themselves notified by the High Court (as the matter of the 2019 JNUSU results is sub judice)," Pandit told PTI.

"Secondly, the demands that they have raised are practically impossible to accept. They want me to increase the MCM scholar but how can I do that given the funding crunch that we are facing. For matters related to the reinstatement of gender sensitisation committee or revocation of proctorial inquiries, it is beyond my authority to do anything. I can't do contempt of court by fulfilling these demands," she added.

In a statement, the JNUSU claimed that its president Dhananjay "is showing pre-jaundice symptoms and his condition is critical as the hunger strike has entered its sixth day. Ranvijay (a student on strike) is dangerously weak and severely dehydrated. Shubham (another protestor) is suffering from typhoid, which has caused high fever and a dangerously low pulse rate."

It complained that the vice-chancellor has not met the protesting students even as the university administration claimed that the medical staff of the university and Dean of Students have been regularly checking on the students and urging them to end the hunger strike.

Responding to the VC's statement, Dhananjay told PTI, "She (Pandit) has on several occasions called the JNUSU in her office as an official body to talk about student issues. Her statement that there is no JNUSU is a lame excuse. Moreover, it is saddening that she's unbothered about the health of students on hunger strike since past six days. She hasn't met us once instead she is focused on delegitimizing us."

The students have been demanding an increase in the Merit-cum-Means (MCM) scholarship to at least Rs 5,000, the opening of Barak Hostel, which has remained non-operational since its inauguration in February, and the revocation of the Chief Proctor's Office (CPO) manual which penalises protests on campus with fines upto Rs 20,000.

Their demands also include reinstatement of the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH), and the withdrawal of proctorial inquiries initiated against the students protesting for water and gender justice issues.

The 2019 JNUSU results were challenged in the High Court. After a gap of four years, the JNU held its students union elections in March with a collation of Left groups and BAPSA coming to power. The results were later challenged in the court over position of the general secretary.