The Ministry of Human Resources and Development's Department of Higher Education issued an order on Sunday, November 17, to constitute a 'high power committee' to recommend ways to restore normalcy in Jawaharlal Nehru University campus.
The order, signed by Under Secretary PK Singh, appointed former UGC Chairman, Dr VS Chauhan, AICTE Chairman Dr Anil Sashasrabuddhe and UGC Secretary Dr Rajnish Jain "to initiate dialogue with the students and the university administration immediately and submit recommendations of actions to be taken". The order also said that the UGC will provide all the necessary support required. This move comes after the students rejected the "major rollback" in fees that reduced only the room rent and did not address the other issues that the students have been protesting about.
The students of the varsity have started their march towards the Parliament after the Delhi Police removed the barricades that had the students boxed inside JNU. But security preparations are at its height as JNU sees one of its biggest protests. Police told the media that they have made adequate security arrangements along the route of the march — police personnel are deployed at all entry points leading towards the Parliament from all possible routes starting from the southwest district, a senior police official said."We have fortified the entire area around Parliament with the winter session beginning from tomorrow. Additional police personnel from other districts will also be deployed to avoid any untoward situation," he added.
The JNU Teachers' Association (JNUTA) expressed concern over the deployment of police outside the varsity. "The massive police deployment and barricading at the gates of the JNU campus, which on the face of it appears to be only for the purpose of preventing the students from taking out their planned march to Parliament," it said. "Such measures or use of force to thwart the exercise of constitutionally guaranteed democratic rights and to impede the students from peacefully taking their voice beyond the campus would be extremely unfortunate and the JNUTA hopes that no such situation will eventually arise," the association said in a statement.
