JNU students boycotting classes over unmet demands

NEW DELHI: Many students at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Tuesday participated in a strike to protest against the administration’s neglect of their demands, including ‘inaction’ over a sexual harassment complaint.

Classes in various departments, including Social Sciences, Physical Science, School of International Students and School of Language, Arts and Aesthetics, and Computer Sciences, were stalled amid the strike.

The protest call was given by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU), which has demanded an expeditious investigation into a sexual harassment incident and action against those accused.

On March 31, a female JNU student filed a complaint with the administration against four individuals, including two former students of the university, for allegedly passing sexually derogatory comments at her while she was taking a walk at the JNU Ring Road in the early hours of the day.

The union has also asked the administration to take

necessary steps to ensure the safety of the victim against alleged attempts at intimidation. “The JNUSU will observe a complete university strike on April 16 if JNU VC fails to address pressing concerns of students by April 15,” it had said on Saturday. The students union has also released a charter of demands, including reinstatement of the now-scrapped Gender Sensitization Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) and inclusion of JNUSU in all committee meetings taking decisions related to students, among others.