J N U D E L H I
PROTEST OVER THE METRO PASS BY SFI JNU
Abhipsha Sarkar
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public central research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. It is one of India's highest ranked universities, one of the country's best graduate schools. The university is known for leading faculties and research emphasis on social sciences and applied sciences.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University' s academic departments are divided into 20 Schools and Centres. It has also granted the recognition and accreditation to the various defence and research and development institutes pan india. The university has exchange programmes and academic collaboration through the signing of MoUs with 71 universities around the world. The university has also sent a proposal to set up a Center in Bihar. The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) trainee officers will be awarded an MA degree in Public Management from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi.
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students` Union or JNUSU is the university-wide representative body for students at the university, an elected body. The student union has close ties to India's Communist parties. The university itself has mobilized around a number of political issues. The administration of the University is answerable to the Union government.
JNU is always highlighted on the headline of the esteemed daily. Its campus is infused with the intense political life, thus leading the students to debate fiercely to the social issues like feminism, minority rights, social and economic justice. The JNU student politics is left-of-centre with Marxism ideology and revolution, issue based and intellectual.
Activism and controversy at the JNU campus had been since 2008 till date. Started with the Ban on student Election, after a prolonged struggle election took place on 1st March 2012 with Sucheta Dalal with the JNUSU president. Followed by 2015, Opposition to Saffronisation by the right wing unions, 2017 Rainbow Walk vandalization, 2016 sedition controversy with the arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar and Ummar Khalid, 2019 protest with the university examination fee hike and 2020 attack on the students and teachers inside the campus premises by some unknown masked vandals, which caused widespread condemnation among the public including renowned personalities, till 2022 attacking the hostel canteen on the ban on non vegetarian food by the Hindu nationalist wing AVBP and the struggle for the concession of the metro fair for students.
Looking back to the timeline of struggle of the metro fare hike. JNU always protested against the metro fare hike.Through SFI Delhi news on 15th May 2017, SFI along with with DYFI and AIDWA protested outside the Delhi Metro rail cooperation office at Jantar mantar demanding the rollback of the hike of 66%. They issued a long pending demand for the issuance of concessional pass for the students travelling on a regular basis.
On 2018, the SFI students, AISA and other students union organisation protested at the Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station on 18th January afternoon with the demand that the extreme hike is resulting problems, will force out of opt for higher education (‘Occupy Vishwavidyalaya’), also demanded that the DU students should be provided with passes for concessional rates on the Metro. By the Express News service, The students demanded a rollback of the Metro fare hike as well as concessional metro pass for the students.
The delegated students were allowed to submit a memorandum with the PMO for a span of 10 days otherwise they will intensify their protest, the protesting students addressed.
Again on 2022, SFI JNU is seen protesting and participating in the mass delegation demanding concessional metro pass for students. When TNB an esteemed journal media spoke to the protestors, one of them said, "We demand concessional passes for the students. Not everyone can afford that. Not every student has those means and so they are on the roads to seek concession in the metro fares for students. Students also spoke about the disparity in the prices of the DTC Buses and the Metro against which they raised their voices.
Many other students organisation and other universities took participated with the JNUSU students to make it a worth for the betterment of the students. One must agree with me that one who left the JNU campus is be ready to face the harsh reality of life as they are being prepared from the ground foundation level.
Many notable alumni of the JNU include the leader Communist Party Of India Prakash Karat, Noble Laurate Prof. Abhijit Banerjee, former Prime Minister of Libya Ali Zeiden, former Prime Minister of Nepal Baburam Bhattarai and many other politicians, artists, diplomats, academics and scientists.
