The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union said on Saturday that they would continue with their hunger strike till the assurances promised by the Ministry of Education are met. This comes as a clash broke out between the police and students who were marching to the MoE as part of the ongoing strike, pressing for a slew of demands, including an increase in scholarship amounts.The strike by the members of the JNUSU started on August 11 and reached its 13th day on Saturday.

Around 43 students were detained by the police and were taken to the police station. Later, a delegation of JNUSU President Dhananjay, Vice President Avijit, and Joint Secretary Sajid were allowed to meet officials at MoE. However, since Avijit and Sajid were detained and taken to Kapaseda they could not make it to the meeting on time.

“The focus of the discussion was the release of funds for increasing MCM and opening of Barak Hostel. It was also stressed that JNU be allowed to conduct its own entrance exam, as NTA is ridden with multiple faults. The issue of Maulana Azad National Fellowship, fellowship for MTech and MPH were also raised. The issue of decreasing viva voce weightage was also discussed. The MoE was informed about the violation of statutes of JNU by not allowing JNUSU to participate in Academic Council meetings where important decisions regarding students are taken,” a statement by the JNUSU noted.

“We were assured of a positive response. We have told that until a positive response is received, the hunger strike will be continuing,” the student body’s statement added.

A heavy deployment of police personnel was made outside the university to prevent the protesting students from stepping out. The security was beefed up as the students were denied permission to march outside the campus. Police were ordered to stop the students incase they came out. However, depsite the multiple layers of barricading and police deployment, the students managed to march outside the university for almost half a kilometre when they were stopped. As the students tried to break the barricades, a clash broke out between the police and the protestors, PTI reported.

A section of students at JNU also called for a complete university strike by boycotting the classes. They demanded a caste census on campus, an increase in scholarship amounts, lifitng ban on campus protests, and the withdrawal of inquiries against students who participate in the protests.      

JNUSU had also shared a video alleging that the the university’s security staff assaulted journalists who reported on the protests. The student body also alleged that the security personnel attempted to destroy cameras used to capture assault’s footage. Later, the cameras were returned following the intervention of students.   

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