Jawaharlal Nehru University

NSUI and ABVP activists undertook a march against this meeting, after which the various parties clashed. The organisers of the forum said that "the event had nothing to do with the killings in Dantewada".

2014 Mahishasura Day Controversy

On 9 October, clashes erupted in JNU over the Mahishasura Martyrdom Day. The spark was the distribution of the October issue of Forward Press, a Christian evangelical Magazine, which depicted Goddess Durga in a derogatory manner. JNU administration gave notice to All India Backward Students' Forum (AIBSF) for defaming Hindu Gods and Goddesses. The Then-HRD Minister Smriti Irani in the light of sedition controversy read out the pamphlet in the parliament in 2016 which was denied by the student organiser.

2015 opposition to saffronisation

In 2015, the JNU Students' Union and the All India Students Association objected to efforts to create instruction on Indian culture. Opposition to such courses was on the basis that such instruction was an attempt to saffronise education. Saffronisation refers to right-wing efforts to glorify ancient Hindu culture. The proposed courses were successfully opposed and were, thus, "rolled back." A former student of JNU and a former student union member, Albeena Shakil, claimed that BJP officials in government were responsible for proposing the controversial courses.

2015 Rainbow Walk

On 28 December 2014, the symbolic "Rainbow Tree" which stood for LGBTQ pride was vandalised. To counter the "growing homophobia" on the campus, JNU Students' Union along with other queer groups like Anjuman and Dhanak, led a march on 9 January, called Rainbow Walk. The protestors criticised the 2013 verdict of the Supreme Court nullifying the Delhi High Court order reading down Section 377 of the IPC.

2016 sedition controversy

On 9 February, a cultural evening was organised by 10 students, formerly of the Democratic Students' Union (DSU), at the Sabarmati Dhaba, against the execution of 2001 Indian Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and separatist leader Maqbool Bhat, and for Kashmir's right to self-determination. Slogans like "Pākistāna Zindābāda" ("Long live Pakistan"), "Kaśmīra kī āzādī taka jaṃga calegī, Bhārata kī barbādī taka jaṃga calegī" ("War will continue till Kashmir's freedom, war will continue till India's demolition") were reportedly raised at the protest meet." Protests by members of ABVP were held at the University demanding expulsion of the student organisers.

JNU administration ordered a "disciplinary" enquiry into the holding of the event despite denial of permission, saying any talk about country's disintegration cannot be "national". The Delhi Police arrested the JNU Students' Union President Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid on charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy, under section 124 of the Indian Penal Code dating back to 1860.

The arrest soon snowballed into a major political controversy, with several leaders of opposition parties visiting the JNU campus in solidarity with the students protesting against the police crackdown. More than 500 academics from around the world, including JNU alumni, released a statement in support of the students. In a separate statement, over 130 world-leading scholars including Noam Chomsky, Orhan Pamuk and Akeel Bilgrami called it a "shameful act of the Indian government" to invoke sedition laws formulated during colonial times to silence criticism. The crisis was particularly concerning to some scholars studying nationalism. On 25 March 2016, the Google Maps search for 'anti national' led users to JNU campus.

Swami Vivekananda Statue

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi inaugurated 151-inch tall statue of Swami Vivekananda on 151st Jayanti of Jainacharya Shree Vijay Vallabh Surishwer Ji Maharaj and referred as the Statue of Peace whereas the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union protested outside the JNU campus and raised slogans such as ‘Uninvited Modi Go Back’, ‘Punish the perpetrators of January 5th attack’, ‘Save Public Education’ and ‘Unlock JNU’ among others.

In November 2019, the yet-to-be inaugurated statue of Swami Vivekananda in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus was vandalised, with slogans against the BJP painted on the floor around the statue. Students of the university, however, denied their involvement and termed it an act by some miscreants to discredit the JNU Students Union movement against the varsity administration against fee hike and hostel manual. A group of students later wiped off the slogans painted near the statue.

Campus Violence

1981 46 days lockdown

JNU was shut down for 46 days by Indian government in 1981 after violence by student unions linked to communist parties.

2000 Army Officers Scuffle

In April 2000, two army officers who disturbed an Indo-Pak mushaira at the JNU campus were beaten up by agitated students. The officers were angered by anti-war poems recited by two Pakistani poets One of them started to shout anti-Pakistan slogans. The Indian Army denied the charges and it was reported that the two army officers were admitted in hospitals. A retired judge was appointed to probe the accusation.

2019 protest and 2020 attack

On 13 November 2019, the JNU administration raised the fees of the university. Since 28 October 2019, some students of JNU had been protesting against the fee hike. As a part of this protest, students boycotted the final semester examinations. After protests, the university partially rolled back by reducing fees only for students from families with extreme poverty (BPL category) who do not avail any scholarship. The move did not convince the students as there was no rollback in the fee hike for non-BPL category students neither for BPL students availing a scholarship. To press the administration for a complete rollback of the increase in fees, JNUSU had continued the protests. The semester registration with the revised fee was started by 1 January.

On 5 January 2020, a group of masked vandals entered the campus, destroyed property and beat up several people. This included students and professors. This drew widespread condemnation from the public, with opposition parties, Bollywood celebrities and human rights activists expressing their concerns.

2022 Resistance to ban on non-veg food

In April 2022, a group of students from ABVP allegedly attacked the canteen staff and students on serving non-vegetarian food. A clash between students in resistance to the efforts of ABVP to restrict serving of non-veg on the occasion of Ram Navami which led several students from both the sides being injured. Delhi police registered an FIR against unidentified ABVP students. Netizens commented this as denial of freedom of choice. JNU's president, Rohit Kumar, alleged that the students from the left parties stopped them from celebrating Ram Navami and that there was a systematic effort to stop Hindu festivals celebrations since years.

Notable alumni and faculty

thumb|right|37th [[Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev being awarded honorary doctorate degree by JNU, 2012.]]

The university's alumni include 2019 Nobel Laureate for Economics Prof. Abhijit Banerjee, former Prime Minister of Libya Ali Zeidan and former Prime Minister of Nepal Baburam Bhattarai, as well as several politicians, diplomats, artists, academics, and scientists.

Notes

References

Sources