Administration can not violate its own written agreement!
Revoke the fines on students, the JNUSU President and Jt. Secy!
Friends,
After more than 3 weeks of its agreement with the JNUSU, the administration has finally taken a decision on the question of punishment of 11 students in the 19th February incident. On the basis of written appeals given to the administration all the 8 students who were rusticated have been allowed to register in the university after they pay a fine (which is Rs 1000 for 6 students and Rs 2000 for the other two). The JNUSU Gen Secretary’s fine has been waived off. The fines on the JNUSU President and Jt Secretary continue to remain.
The 19th February Incident and Maturity of the student movement of JNU
We would like to revisit the 19th February incident for the benefit of new students who have joined the university this year. On 19th February, a protest demonstration was called by the JNUSU against the tearing off of some posters supporting the workers’ movement. This demonstration was, however, unilaterally turned into a gherao of the Registrar by the ultra-left forces. In no democratic forum of the students was it ever decided that the demonstration would be turned into a gherao but the adventurism of the ultra-left organizations on campus led to an ugly turn of events with acts like tying a rope around his car, deflating its tyres, smearing black paint on it, climbing on the top of the car were indulged in by their activists. This was a setback to the democratic traditions of the JNU student movement. The JNU administration, using this incident as a pretext, suspended 10 students including three office-bearers of the JNUSU.
However, reflecting its political maturity and high consciousness level of the student community, the JNU student movement itself embarked upon a corrective path after the incident. The JNUSU council passed a resolution (which was moved by the SFI-AISF representatives) expressing regret over an incident which took place in an action led by it. The resolution categorically said that the incident of 19th February was an aberration to the democratic traditions which the JNU student movement has always been known for. This resolution was later endorsed with an overwhelming majority in the UGBM held on the 8th March. The same UGBM also took the position that based on the expression of regret individually by all the suspended students, their suspensions should be withdrawn and that any further punishments to these students would be resisted by the students’ union. On the basis of the JNUSU resolution and individual regret letters submitted by all the students including the 3 JNUSU office-bearers their suspensions were withdrawn in the month of March.
A Successful agitation led by the JNUSU
However acting in a vindictive manner, the administration once again issued show cause notices
to 11 students in the midst of summer vacations. This was shortly followed by rustication of 8
students and imposition of fines on the JNUSU President, Gen Secy and Jt Secy. It was clear that the administration’s real agenda was to suppress and weaken the entire student movement of this campus using the 19th February incident as a pretext. The student community waged a
spirited struggle against this crackdown on our student movement. After a historic agitation of 19 days which included a 12 day long indefinite hunger strike under the leadership of the JNUSU President, Com. Dhananjay along with 4 other students including the JNUSU Vice President and an 8 day long hunger Strike by the SIS Councillor P K Anand, the administration was forced to enter into an agreement with the JNUSU. The agreement said that the administration would enable all the rusticated students to take registration into the university by the 14th of August. The administration was also forced to accept several important demands in the JNUSU’s Charter. These included increasing the amount of MCM for BA/MA students to Rs 1500 and raising the income cap for MCM to Rs 1 lakh per annum, forwarding the demand of implementing the UGC scholarships for M.Phil/Ph.D students from July 2005 to the UGC, allowing the Aleemeyat/Fazeelat certificates for admissions to B.A, setting up a committee to ensure workers’ right in the campus, strengthening of the Equal Opportunity Office and initiating the process of bringing Gender violence under the purview of GSCASH.
Breach of Agreement by the administration and the struggle ahead
It is in this context that we should look at the present response of the administration. The SFI-AISF strongly condemns the imposition of fines instead of rustications by the administration. Imposition of fines in place of rustications was not a part of the JNUSU’s agreement with the administration. Once the rusticated students have submitted their appeals to the administration, any other conditionality for giving them registration is completely unacceptable to the student community. The present act of the administration is thus a clear violation of the spirit of its agreement with the JNUSU.
The administration has also failed to understand that the JNUSU President and Jt Secretary would not tender any kind of regret to the administration. In an unfortunate manner the JNUSU Gen Secy has given his regret to the administration, which was not even asked for in the first place. This is all the more condemnable because it was done without even informing the student community or the JNUSU Council members. This has only weakened student unity and encouraged the administration to continue with its anti-student and high handed behaviour. However, the SFI-AISF would like to warn this administration against taking the other office-bearers and the other students on whom fines have been imposed for granted in this manner. We strongly demand from the administration that it must revoke all the fines imposed upon the students and the JNUSU President and Jt Secretary without any further conditionality.
We also condemn the text and tenor of the letter which has been given to the concerned students by the Chief Proctor’s office. It says that the punishments have been revoked because of the “good conduct” of these students and also carries a warning of such action in the future. We would like to remind the JNU administration that it is not some abstract good conduct but a valiant struggle of the student movement which has forced it to take back these unjust punishments. The JNU student movement has always fought against such crackdowns on democratic voices and movements throughout the country and we would like to warn the administration that any such move would be given a thorough defeat in the coming days as well. It was the united and uncompromising fight by the students of this campus which forced this administration to take back its vindictive act of rustications of individual students and come to an agreement with the JNUSU. If the Vice Chancellor and his team are of the view that they can get away by breaching their own written agreement then they would have to face the music. The issue today is not whether one should pay a fine of Rs 1000 or 2000. The more important issue is whether the student movement of JNU would allow some dictatorial and adamant administrators sitting in the Pink Palace to violate an agreement which has been achieved after an arduous struggle led by our comrades who sat on a 12 day long hunger strike in an extremely hostile weather conditions and hundreds of other students who worked tirelessly for 19 days against this attack on our democratic rights. The student community must rise up against this breach of faith by the administration against its own written agreement. The need of the hour is to wage an even more militant and radical struggle to teach a final lesson to this administration. The SFI-AISF would appeal to all the students of this campus to rally behind the JNUSU against this high handedness and authoritarian behaviour of the administration.
The SFI-AISF would appeal to the student community to join tonight’s protest march called by the JNUSU in large numbers and observe a total strike in the university tomorrow. A clear signal must be sent that the students of this campus are not going to let any administration rest in peace and comfort which has lost even the minimum moral obligation of respecting its own agreement with the JNUSU.
JOIN JNUSU's Protest March
against The Imposition Of Unjust Fines On Rusticated Students And JNUSU President and Joint Secretary.
Ganga Dhaba 9 pm (tonight)
UNIVERSITY STRIKE 9TH AUGUST, 2007 (Thursday).
Sd/- Rajiv Kumar Ranjan, Secretary, SFI-JNU.
Sd/- Sanjay Kumar, AISF-JNU.
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