Hunger strike at Jamia
RUCHIKA GOYAL
In a meeting last month with the students and the Jamia Teachers Association (JTA) in presence of the Vice Chancellor, the administration had decided to reconsider the issue of the hostel with the students and had said that the management would talk to the students’ representatives about their other demands. But with the students of JMI going on a 72 hour relay hunger strike, it seems that there is something amiss with that story.
The students revealed that the management still uses the hostel complex for its own purposes and that it is not ready to agree to the demands of the students. One agitated student alleged that the VC had lied outright. “He refused our demands saying that mere saath toh koi agreement hi nahi hua,” he says. The University is being accused of misusing the students’ collective fund, with students claiming that more than Rs 3 crores has been spent on security each year and more than Rs 15 lakhs on the rebuilding of the University gates, even though there was a shortage of laboratories, books and chemicals.
The students plan to continue their hunger strike until their demands are heard, although the management has done nothing so far to call off the strike. The students even allege that they were beaten up by University guards when they tried to put up a tent. They allege that the VC has threatened them with severe consequences, such as failing them in their exams and even expelling them, if they do not call off the strike.
Although not supporting the agitation openly, the teachers are impressed with the peaceful way in which it is being conducted, and feel it is the University that is behaving wildly. One of the teachers who didn’t want to be named said, “Nowhere in the world does a university seize accommodation or any other facility from its students.”
In a meeting last month with the students and the Jamia Teachers Association (JTA) in presence of the Vice Chancellor, the administration had decided to reconsider the issue of the hostel with the students and had said that the management would talk to the students’ representatives about their other demands. But with the students of JMI going on a 72 hour relay hunger strike, it seems that there is something amiss with that story.
The students revealed that the management still uses the hostel complex for its own purposes and that it is not ready to agree to the demands of the students. One agitated student alleged that the VC had lied outright. “He refused our demands saying that mere saath toh koi agreement hi nahi hua,” he says. The University is being accused of misusing the students’ collective fund, with students claiming that more than Rs 3 crores has been spent on security each year and more than Rs 15 lakhs on the rebuilding of the University gates, even though there was a shortage of laboratories, books and chemicals.
The students plan to continue their hunger strike until their demands are heard, although the management has done nothing so far to call off the strike. The students even allege that they were beaten up by University guards when they tried to put up a tent. They allege that the VC has threatened them with severe consequences, such as failing them in their exams and even expelling them, if they do not call off the strike.
Although not supporting the agitation openly, the teachers are impressed with the peaceful way in which it is being conducted, and feel it is the University that is behaving wildly. One of the teachers who didn’t want to be named said, “Nowhere in the world does a university seize accommodation or any other facility from its students.”
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