JNU rusticates Umar and Anirban, students allege it's Centre's ploy

QUICK PILL

The charges

• Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar are among those held responsible for the JNU row
• The university administration has based its decision on the findings of a high-level committee

The punishments

• Three students - Umar, Anirban and Mujeeb Gattoo - have been rusticated, while two have been thrown out of hostels
• Nine others, including Kanhaiya, have been handed fines

More in the story

• How the student community at JNU reacted to these punishments
• Is the Centre behind this decision?

The Jawaharlal Nehru University has held Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and Kanhaiya Kumar among those responsible for the fracas at the university campus on 9 February. While Umar and Anirban have been rusticated, Kanhaiya has been fined.

Two-and-a-half months ago, an event was held to mark the death anniversary of hanged terrorist Afzal Guru, which spiralled into a huge 'nationalist vs anti-national' controversy. It also led to sedition charges being slapped against these three students.

On Monday, 25 April, the university administration decided to crack the whip on the organisers of the event, as per the findings of a high-level committee set up to look into the matter.

Charges and punishments

As per the JNU order, 14 students have been held responsible for indulging in 'sloganeering' and putting up 'objectionable posters', with the motive of arousing 'communal' and 'caste feelings'.

The university issued a statement, which read: "The committee has recommended rustication/fine for three students, withdrawal of hostel facilities/financial penalty for two students and only financial penalty for nine other students. Two former JNU students, moreover, have been declared out of bounds."

The three students rusticated by the university are Umar, Anirban and Mujeeb Gattoo, who hails from Kashmir.

Anirban was charged for 'not following the university procedure for holding the event' on 9 February, misinforming university security and 'arousing communal and caste feelings', engaging in sloganeering, and 'putting up objectionable posters', among other things.

The report concluded that charges against Anirban were 'serious' and his actions were 'unbecoming of a student of JNU'. Anirban has been rusticated till 15 July 2016 and has been asked to not enter the campus to pursue any course for a period of five years, with effect from 25 July 2016.

Umar, who was also served a notice, has been rusticated for one semester, and has also been handed a fine of Rs 20,000, which he needs to deposit by 12 May 2016. As per the notice, his readmission into the university is 'subject to the conduct during this period'.

The charges against Umar are almost identical to those against Anirban, and yet, the punitive action taken against Anirban is much more severe.

Both Umar and Anirban were charged for sedition and arrested by the Delhi Police. They had spent 15 days in Tihar Jail, under judicial custody.

However, JNUSU president Kanhaiya, who was also charged with sedition and arrested in connection with the incident, was not rusticated. He was handed a Rs 10,000 fine.

Widespread criticism

The university administration's decision has been widely slammed by the people punished, as well as the JNU student community at large. The one common observation repeated by virtually all those critical of the move is that this has been done at the Central government's behest.

Shehla Rashid, vice-president of the JNUSU, said: "We completely reject this farcical inquiry report, as it is based on sheer vendetta and a biased inquiry. These are all innocent students coming from humble backgrounds. The punishments are based on one-sided statements from ABVP members, and our repeated calls to conduct a fair inquiry got ignored.

"Rakesh Bhatnagar, the head of the committee, is the treasurer of anti-reservationist Youth for Equality, and most students punished belong to Dalit, Muslim and backward castes. We will launch a countrywide campaign to expose this government's anti-student, anti-Dalit character."

Ramanaga, a Scheduled Tribe student from Andhra Pradesh and an AISA member, who has been fined Rs 20,000, said: "The move came right at the moment when we were mobilising colleges across the country, and succeeding. This government is extremely insecure. I have everything to lose; my fellowship money has been blocked, and they want me to pay a fine of Rs 20,000. The allegations and the punitive measures are both bizarre."

Ramanaga says that the JNUSU will seek legal recourse, if it comes to that.

Anant Prakash Narayan, a Dalit student and AISA member, who has also been fined for Rs 20,000, said: "This is a direct diktat from the Centre. A direct order from the HRD ministry. It should be noted how an autonomous institution can so easily succumb to the pressure of the ruling party."

Sucheta De, national president of the All India Students Association (AISA), concurs with Anant.

"Obviously this diktat is from the HRD ministry, and is based on false grounds. Students will not take this lightly, and will respond to the notice on a large scale. Students were not given any chance to explain themselves. This is nothing but political victimisation."

Ashutosh Kumar, former JNUSU president, who has been asked to move out of the hostel for one year and pay a fine of Rs 20,000, said: "The vice-chancellor just came back from a holiday and, instead of looking into matters that we and the academic council raised on issues like reservation split among OBCs and more representation of women, he found the probe against us much more relevant."

He added that the different quanta of punishment handed to the students were an attempt to create a divide, which won't work.