JNUSU ends 17-day hunger strike after JNU agrees to revoke rustication of students

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) has ended its 17-day hunger strike after the university administration agreed to revoke the rustication of student office-bearers and withdraw FIRs against students, according to minutes of a meeting held on October 19.

The minutes, signed by Dean of the School of Social Sciences (SSS) Vivek Kumar and student representatives, listed a series of decisions on the students' demands, including a review of the Chief Proctor's Office (CPO) manual, withdrawal of proctorial inquiries and the constitution of committees to examine various issues.

In a separate notice dated October 19, the university said Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit had directed the administration to revoke the rustication of five students with immediate effect. The students have been advised to pay their respective fines immediately.

The five students are Aditi Mishra, K. Gopika Babu, Sunil Yadav, Danish Ali and Nitish Kumar. The first four names are the current office bearers of JNUSU and the last is the former JNUSU president.

The meeting also decided that all FIRs against students would be withdrawn. Proctorial inquiries initiated during protests against rustication and University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations, as well as a hostel infrastructure protest, would also be withdrawn.

A committee comprising a JNUSU office-bearer and an elected member will be formed to review the contentious clauses of the CPO manual and recommend their removal.

The student body had opposed the manual over its provisions restricting protests and allowing penalties, including fines, suspension and rustication, for violations.

The administration also agreed to form a committee with a JNUSU representative to examine the Jawaharlal Nehru University Entrance Examination (JNUEE).

The minutes further stated that an audit report on the Equal Opportunity Cell (EOC) would be provided within a week, and the cell would be reorganised in consultation with JNUSU office-bearers.

Committees would also be constituted to examine hostel reservations and the implementation of other demands.

The university agreed to consider a 25% increase in the Merit-cum-Means (MCM) scholarship and initiate structural audits of Tapti and Mahi-Mandavi hostels and the Transgender and Gender Equality Facilitation Areas (TEFLAs), with renovation work to follow the prescribed procedure.

Other decisions included making geysers functional in all hostels within two weeks, opening a canteen in the Centre for Studies in Languages and Literature (CSLG), extending school library hours until 9 p.m., and forming a committee to examine the opening of the Barak hostel mess and provision of Wi-Fi facilities.

The committee will meet again after 14 working days to take forward the specific demands and discuss the modalities for implementing them, the minutes stated.