After campus protest, JNU tells teachers: Don’t break Covid rules, sully varsity image

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Friday appealed to its faculty members not to “sully the image of the university” by violating the Covid-19 guidelines, two

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Friday appealed to its faculty members not to “sully the image of the university” by violating the Covid-19 guidelines, two days after some of them has held a protest on the campus against the arrests of students in connection with the north-east Delhi riots and protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

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In a statement Friday, JNU registrar Pramod Kumar said, “It’s come to the notice of the administration that a few faculty members of the JNU had held a protest against CAA on the campus on June 3, 2020. While right to protest is well recognised and respected, violating the Covid-19 guidelines sets a wrong example, particularly when it is staged by intellectuals of a prestigious university such as the JNU.”

“The protesting faculty members are requested not to sully the image of the university by violating the Covid-19 guidelines when the nation is working hard to contain the spread of the coronavirus,” the notice said.

Several student groups across the country had participated in a nationwide protest against the “repression of anti-CAA activists” demanding a release of all such arrested persons. The protesters posted pictures on social media and gathered at different spots in the capital in small numbers while maintaining physical distancing.

Members of the JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) said the faculty members did not violate any guidelines and the protest was held by maintaining proper social distancing. “The image of the university will only be sullied if the university community is silent in the face of injustice seen all around,” JNUTA secretary Surajit Majumdar said.