Outsiders likely behind JNU hate graffiti, says VC

‘I think it was mischief because of certain circumstances. One is university elections for the teachers’ representatives to the Executive Council. The other was the two assembly elections. I don’t think students are directly involved,’ said Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) vice-chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit on Monday said that outsiders may have been involved in defacing two buildings of the School of International Students with graffiti against upper caste groups earlier this month. Quoting “intelligence reports” which said “miscreants” from outside were responsible for painting slogans such as “Brahmins Leave The Campus”, “There Will Be Blood”, “Brahmin Bharat Chhodo” and “Brahmin-Baniyas, we are coming for you” on the buildings, she said the university was contemplating a smart card mechanism to discourage the entry of outsiders.

JNU vice-chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit. (ANI)

“We are getting intelligence reports. Though until we get the final report, there are a lot of guesses. These are outsiders who came in. Three-four of them (came) and they scribbled it and went. We don’t have cameras, and we don’t check identity cards, so how are you going to find somebody unless somebody is an eyewitness? This is the first time that such casteist slogans have ever been written in JNU’s history which is very unfortunate,” Pandit said during a press conference on Monday. She added that JNU’s politics revolved around ideology, not around primordial identities. The VC also said that assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh may have triggered the incident.

“I think it was mischief because of certain circumstances. One is university elections for the teachers’ representatives to the Executive Council. The other was the two assembly elections. I don’t think students are directly involved,” she said.

She added that identity cards will allow the university to keep a check on notorious elements that attempt to exploit the campus space. “On one hand, students want freedom, but even to protect their own freedom they need to have an ID card. We want to have smart cards so that students can use them for entry,” said Pandit.

“We are asking students to be vigilant. Every time there can’t be a situation wherein a mischief monger or 3-4 people do this and the entire university gets defamed... Because JNU is a space where you can do anything and get a lot of publicity, outsiders can come and exploit our space. This is the major problem,” said Pandit, while making a case for a system of smart cards.

She said that outsiders wishing to use the university’s resources could get temporary identity cards to access facilities such as libraries. “I don’t want access to be stopped for anyone who is legitimate and sincere, but I don’t want anyone to feel insecure on campus because of intruders,” she said. Pandit also added that the campus boundary was broken at various points and the varsity was looking at CSR funds for rebuilding the boundary wall.

The VC also announced that the varsity was setting up the School of Indian Languages which would offer master, certificate, and diploma courses in various languages from next year. The courses will be run online and offline. The university has already received a commitment to the tune of ₹50 crore from five states that will be contributing towards a corpus fund for the School.

“We want to set up the centre to celebrate what JNU is known for--celebrating the cultural diversity of the country and also to showcase different languages. So far, five states (Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Assam) have promised us funds. We will be looking forward to other states as well,” said Pandit.