JNU: Protesters bring top India university to its knees
"I told the
policeman I was a blind student. I asked him to stop hitting me as I couldn't
even run away. But he said why did you join the protest if you were
blind?" Shashibhushan Samad is
lying on the bed at his JNU dorm room, recounting a protest rally on Monday
where thousands of students clashed with police. Many received injuries and had
to be taken to hospital.
For almost four weeks now, students have been protesting against an increase in accommodation fees at the top university. Under the new proposed fees, students will have to pay between 1,800 rupees ($25; £20) and 3,600 rupees ($50; £40) every year for housing on campus. They were previously paying between 120 rupees ($1.60) and 240 rupees ($3). They will also have to pay for other services - such as electricity and sanitation - which they say they have never had to do before.
Many say that the new structure is prohibitive, particularly for students from poorer backgrounds, and will affect its standing as an inclusive institution. A renowned centre for teaching and research that provides education at a fraction of the cost charged by its private counterparts, the government-run JNU is a highly coveted university. Its alumni hold sway in the bureaucracy, journalism, the police and a host of other public and private sector jobs. Private education in India is still unaffordable for the majority of the country's population and jobs in government institutions are limited. JNU, its supporters say, plays an important role in remedying that. "The democratisation of the elite has long-term consequences for the healthy development of Indian society. So we need a lot more institutions like JNU," said former vice chancellor Dr YK Alagh...
