JNU row: Protests over pellet injuries replace Afzal Guru

A year after an event organised by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students, on the occasion of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's death anniversary, snowballed into a major controversy, there was no mention of him on the campus on Thursday.

The varsity, however, continued to witness protests over various other issues.

Scores of students could be seen protesting on issues ranging from the UGC May, 2016, notification to pellet gun violence in Kashmir. In solidarity with the pellet gun victims in Kashmir, some students, including those affiliated with the Bhagat Singh Ambedkar Students Organisation (BASO), wore blood-soaked bandages on their heads. They also carried photos of injured children.

"We are wearing these bandages to extend our solidarity to pellet gun victims in Kashmir. This is not the first time we are doing this. We have worn these bandages several times in the last few months, as a symbolic protest," student leader Umar Khalid said. "It has nothing to do with Afzal Guru's hanging," he added.

Meanwhile, amid songs and sloganeering, some students protested inside the administration building against the recent amendments in admission policy following the UGC guidelines. They said they will not budge from the spot without meeting the Vice-Chancellor or the Registrar. Both of them, however, were not present in the campus.

"We are protesting against the UGC notification that makes viva the major criterion for admission in MPhil and PhD, and also cuts down the number of seats for admission into these courses. The protest has been on for the last few weeks but we have not received any response," JNU Students' Union General Secretory Satarupa Chakraborty said.

"Now when the students from various centers have come to seek answers, the V-C is not present here," she rued.

The administration, however, stated that no student requested for a meeting or a talk. "They did not seek permission for any sort of meeting or talk with the V-C. He is not in town. He had prior engagements," Registrar Pramod Kumar said.

Last year on February 9, anti-national slogans were allegedly raised on the campus during an event organised by a section of students against Guru's execution. The event snowballed into a big controversy, leading to the arrest of former JNU Students' Union President Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, and former student Anirban Bhattacharya.