Taking a dim view of an event that was held inside the JNU campus to coincide with the date of hanging of Afzal Guru, the university administration on Wednesday ordered a “disciplinary” enquiry. The decision to initiate proceedings against those behind the event came in the backdrop of the refusal of permission to do so. later in the day, ABVP protested demanding expulsion of the student organisers.
Maintaining that the act by students amounted to “indiscipline” and any talk about disintegration of nation cannot be “national”, said the university authorities. The committee headed by the Chief Proctor of JNU will investigate the matter and come up with its report.
“The permission for the programme was sought by giving incomplete information, so it is an act of indiscipline. A committee headed by the Chief Proctor will examine the footage of the event and speak to the witnesses. It is on basis of the report, the varsity will take appropriate action,” JNU Vice-Chancellor Jagdeesh Kumar said.
The student organisers of the event had pasted posters across the campus, inviting others to gather for a protest march against “judicial killing of Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhatt” and in solidarity with “struggle” of Kashmiri migrants, at varsity’s Sabarmati dhaba.
Members of the ABVP objected to the event and sought the V-C’s intervention to disallow it, but the organisers went ahead with the programme despite the cancellation of the permission and held a cultural programme, art and photo exhibition on the issue rather than a protest.
Agitated over the issue, ABVP members gathered outside the V-C office and shouted slogans, demanding expulsion of the organisers. JNU students’ union Joint Secretary Saurabh Kumar, who is the only ABVP member in the union, said, “How can an event on Afzal Guru, who attacked the temple of democracy, be held hereIJ We are demanding expulsion of those who organised it”.
The university authorities had cancelled the protest march on Tuesday “fearing” it might “disrupt” peace on the campus.
However, this is not the first time that students have organised an event on death anniversary of Afzal Guru. The varsity Registrar said, “If a wrong thing has happened once, it does not have to happen again. We had denied the permission earlier too and those who were found defying instructions by the probe committee were penalised.”
The decision of ordering an enquiry was taken by the V-C after he met the agitating students.
“The V-C has told us that an enquiry has been ordered and action will be taken on the basis of the report. But we will approach the HRD Ministry as well as the Home Ministry demanding that the students who contributed to this ‘anti-national’ activity be expelled,” said Alok Singh, president of ABVP’s JNU unit.