NEW DELHI: A controversy over a “veg-only” notice in Jawaharlal Nehru University’s (JNU) Mahi-Mandavi hostel mess continues to stir campus politics, with fresh protests taking place even after the original notice was removed.
Few days ago, a notice indicating separate arrangements for vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals appeared in the hostel mess. The notice sparked outrage from the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU), whose president Nitesh Kumar alleged that the hostel president—linked to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)—along with a mess official, was behind the move.
Calling it an attempt to divide students and a violation of hostel norms, JNUSU vowed to protect JNU’s tradition of students dining together regardless of food preferences. They met the hostel warden, who denied prior knowledge of the decision and promised to set up a committee to investigate.
ABVP leaders rejected allegations of forced segregation. ABVP’s JNU president Rajeshwar Kant Dubey said complaints had been received from vegetarian students who felt uncomfortable eating alongside non-vegetarian meals. Joint Secretary Vaibhav Meena added that the month of Sawan had heightened sensitivities, and students had “mutually agreed” to put up the notice. ABVP demanded separate cooking arrangements to ensure the “purity” of vegetarian food.
On August 1, the dispute resurfaced when ABVP’s Joint Secretary Vaibhav Meena led a protest outside the Dean of Students’ office, submitting a memorandum to press for better arrangements for vegetarian students.
Meena reiterated that ensuring the sanctity and purity of vegetarian meals was a legitimate right, and urged the administration to direct hostel wardens to address any discomfort or inconvenience faced by vegetarian students. According to Meena, the Dean assured that wardens across all hostels would be instructed to take steps to prevent any such grievances.
The original July controversy had ended with the removal of the veg-only notice after JNUSU’s intervention, but the persistence of protests highlights that the underlying disagreement remains unresolved.