A member of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) on Wednesday accused the administration of Jawaharlal Nehru University of stopping a Facebook Live event on India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, on his birth anniversary.
According to JNU officials, the Facebook Live event was supposed to be held within the 100m periphery of the varsity's administrative block, which would have been against the Delhi High Court's ruling in 2017. "We were not against the programme, but the venue was not appropriate because of the High Court directions and academic regulations," JNU registrar Pramod Kumar told PTI.
Last year, the Delhi High Court had asked the JNU students not to protest within a 100m radius of the administrative block, which houses several offices, including that of the vice chancellor.
"#JNU_Admin #Stops a mere #facebook_live on Nehru !! On the birth Anniversary architect of Modern India, 14 November. I have got a warning letter from JNU admin. Do not dare to speak the Truth, [they subtly meant, don't expose RSS]. Iqbal's couplet seems quite relevant here," Sunny Dhiman, NSUI's presidential candidate for the 2016 student union polls, posted on Facebook.
He also shared a letter from the JNU administration addressed to him. The Facebook Live was supposed to happen near the statue of Jawaharlal Nehru outside the administrative block.
"It has come to the notice of the Administration that a programme, Nehru—Kya Sach Kya Jooth, is being organised by Ms Priya Kumari [page admin] at Administrative Block, JNU, on November 14 at 4pm and you are one of the speakers in the said programme," the letter addressed to Dhiman from JNU registrar Pramod Kumar said.
"You are requested not to address the said meeting as its venue falls in the close vicinity of the Administrative Block, which is a prohibited area within the university campus for holding such activity. This is in violation of Academic Rules and Regulations Etc and also directives from the High Court," the letter of the JNU Administration said.
According to academic rules, all forms of coercion such as gheraos, sit-ins or any variation of the same, which disrupt normal academic and administrative functioning of the university, are prohibited at JNU.
"Hunger strikes, dharnas and other peaceful and democratic forms of protest & group bargaining shall be conducted with restraint, i.e at a distance of 100 meters away from the Administrative & Academic complexes," the rules note.
