Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU) vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar spoke to Amandeep Shukla about the recent attack in the university, the swell of support for the students among civil society, activists and celebrities, calls for his resignation, and how to resolve the crisis. Edited excerpts:
JNU is again on the boil, and many people are joining protests both inside campus and outside. How do you see this situation?
Many people are coming to JNU, great personalities, well-known actors, politicians. Many people are saying, ‘We stand by the protesting students’. It is their right to support the protesting students. But I also request them to look at the plight of thousands of students and hundreds of teachers, who are physically and violently prevented from pursuing their own academic interest. Why is no voice being raised for those students, and telling the protesting students, ‘You go ahead with your protests but not by trampling on the rights of the others?’ I would seriously like to hear more voices in support of the silent majority of students who are seriously affected.
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Why is that they are not standing with the non-agitators? Why are they [non-agitating students] not called for TV debates and asked to explain their point of view on how they are getting affected? I think you need to have a fair way of handling the situation. You need to hear both sides and then make a judgment.
How do you hope to kick start the process to normalcy?
I met the human resource development ministry secretary this morning. We explained to him the steps taken to bring normalcy. The first task was to make the data centre functional, so that the information and communication system of the university is live because that is the nerve centre of the university. That has enabled thousands of students to register for the winter semester and the number is growing, which is very heartening because many of the students are fed up with the kind of protests that are going on. And unfortunately, those protests also turned violent on Sunday in which many of our own students also got injured which is very, very unfortunate. And my heart goes out to all of them.
Many people have questioned the role of the administration. There is an allegation that there was a delay in calling the police.
That is absolutely wrong. The JNU administration acted immediately, as soon as we came to know. In fact, I was in the very building here conducting a faculty selection committee meeting. Around 4.30pm, we came to know that a group of students was aggressively moving towards a couple of hostels. Immediately, we sent the security guards there. They tried to control the situation but when they realised the students were becoming very aggressive and more students were joining in the group, then they decided call the police. We called the police. The police arrived, and with the help of the security guards and the police, the situation was brought under control.
But all the masked persons managed to escape? Do you think somewhere, the security arrangement was inadequate?
You see, agitators with faces covered with masks is a new phenomenon we are seeing in the campus. For example, on January 3, when about 10 to 20 students came to damage the data centre, they came with their faces covered. I wonder, if their grievance is genuine, if their protest is the right way to protest, why should they cover their face with cloth and from whom are they trying to hide? But whether they are outsiders or insiders, as it happened on January 3… all those facts will come out once the Delhi police completes its inquiry.
Would it be correct to say the administration was not prepared for such a flare up?
As an administration, we are sandwiched between two sides of the argument. Whenever such an incident takes place, people say, “why did you call the police?’ If we don’t call the police, people accuse us and say, ’Why didn’t you call?’ As an educational institution, we don’t call the police at the drop of a hat. We try to assess and with the help of our security guards if we can contain the situation. And only when the situation becomes a law and order situation, we call the police. And that is what we did.
Many accuse the administration of acting in a partisan manner.
As JNU administration, we do not classify our students into any camps. And any accusation that the JNU administration acted in a partisan manner is completely unfounded.
Is there a communication gap, especially with the students’ union?
We always emphasise that the administration is open for dialogue and discussion. On several occasions, we invited the hostel presidents. We invited the student leaders. But if the students become aggressive, they disrupt the meeting, they create a situation where a peaceful dialogue cannot happen, how can we find a solution?
Many injured students are named in FIRs. Do you plan any outreach now?
We have made several appeals. Through media, we have appealed to them to call off the strike. But we have also seen statements that we will fight come what may until there is a complete roll back. If you have such rigid position then there is no way a solution can be found.
Have you met any of the injured - teachers or students?
The university has a system. When they were injured, they were immediately sent to AIIMS. When they were back, the wardens have taken care of them, the dean is there, a doctor and ambulance service is available. Free medical supplies are provided. Wardens and deans are doing their best.
Have you assessed the violence during violence?
The damage is being assessed. An inquiry is being conducted and according to the rules, action will be taken and if involvement is established, damage will be recovered.
But in such a charged situation, will action not further escalate matters?
If rules have been violated, some action has to be taken. Otherwise what message are we sending?
Many people are saying the V-C should resign. How do you respond?
There can be different perceptions of what happened here. Some of them are from outside and may not have all the details but they form opinions. This issue of people asking me to resign is not a new phenomenon. It has been happening since the time I joined here. But we are going to be steadfast in making sure that our attention is focused on achieving academic excellence.