JNU professor abused and attacked inside campus

A Jawaharlal University (JNU) Professor, Amita Singh, was allegedly abused and attacked inside the university campus by a group of students while she stepped out of the university's academic council meeting late night on October 7.

Claiming to have been abused and called a 'Sanghi', the professor has lodged a complaint naming three faculty members on Sunday evening and blamed the JNU teachers' union (JNUTA) for instigating students to engage in the attacks. The teachers claimed to have no knowledge about the incident, and the students named in the complaint said they 'only raised slogans'.

"I stepped out of the academic council meeting late Saturday evening, and was immediately surrounded by around 20 students. They started calling me out, abusing me, calling me "sanghi" and didn't even let me move. When I, along with the JNU registrar and proctor tried to get into our car, we were stopped and surrounded by the students who started banging on the car. Some of them even laid down in front of the car," Professor Amita Singh, who is the Dean of School of Law and Governance, told DNA.

As per Singh, the proposal to introduce a new programme in transdisciplinary research was what earned her the students' ire. "I had presented the proposal for introducing a disaster research programme in the University for a transdisciplinary programme, the talks of which have been going on since 2011, and that has already been passed by five standing committees. But the JNUSU thinks that any new innovation is 'bhagwakaran' and I was attacked as soon as I stepped out.," she added, blaming JNUTA for instigating the students.

In her complaint, Singh has named three professors from the University - JNUTA President Professor Ajay Patnaik from School for Russian and central Asian studies, Professor Ayesha Kidwai and Ajith Kanna from School of Language, Literature and Culture studies - as those who instigated the students. While Professor Patnaik said he had no idea about an attack and had left the meeting premises 45 minutes ago, Professor Ayesha Kidwai said the allegations were unfounded.

"JNU teachers don't attack each other, or instigate students to attack fellow teachers. I am not even an academic council member," said Kidwai. Professor Kanna claimed that he did not know Singh.
The Professor has also named some students as being involved in the act.

Manikanta, one of the students told DNA, " We did raise slogans and surround the professor, but there was no violence involved at any point of time."

JNUSU President, Mohit Pandey, also claimed to have no knowledge of any incident "We were inside the meeting where we are supposed to sit as observers. I have no idea about any such occurrence," he said.

University teachers had also met the Vice Chancellor (VC) on Monday, demanding that immediate enquiry be held into the incident and show cause notices be issued to all. The teachers have also asked the VC to ensure that no students are allowed around the location of the meeting.

Since the February 13 incident, when Delhi Police had arrested the then JNUSU President, Kanhaiya Kumar, following protests in the university campus against the hanging of the 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, the university has been on a boil with small skirmishes between groups acquiring ideological colours.