NEW DELHI – A wave of protests has erupted at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), as the Students' Federation of India (SFI) targets the invitation of Union Minister Smriti Irani to the campus by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The SFI's protest is rooted in Irani's controversial tenure as Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD) and her role in the institutional suspension of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula in 2016, an event that culminated in his suicide and ignited a nationwide debate on caste discrimination within Indian academic institutions.
The student body asserts that Irani's presence on campus is a direct affront to the memory of Vemula and the ongoing struggle for social justice. They point to her parliamentary speech following Vemula's death, which they claim misrepresented the facts of the case.
The SFI's protest aligns with broader efforts to address systemic caste-based discrimination in education. Research from institutions like the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies has consistently highlighted the pervasive nature of such discrimination in universities, leading to policy changes such as the 2006 Equal Opportunity Cell directive. The protesting students see their actions as a continuation of this fight, aiming to hold accountable those they believe contributed to the hostile environment faced by marginalized students.
The ABVP, which extended the invitation, has yet to issue a formal response to the protest. The situation on campus remains tense as the SFI vows to continue its demonstration until their demands are met, bringing the long-simmering tensions over caste, politics, and academia back to the forefront of national discourse.
