Left leaders 'politicise' JNU student Muthu Krishnan's death

The alleged suicide of 27-year-old Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Scholar Muthu Krishnan has become a rallying point for some political activists. JNU students on campus say that some Leftist outfits are trying to politicise Krishnan's death by claiming that this is another Rohith Vemula case. Last year, the suicide of Rohith Vemula, a Dalit student of University of Hyderabad had become a political flashpoint triggering a nationwide stir.

However, so far most students and faculty do not want Krishnan's death to be politicised and even the All India Students' Association (AISA) led students is treading cautiously on the issue.
But several politicians and activists including the Communist Party of India's (CPI) D Raja, Annie Raja, Ramesh Natham of National Society for Dalit Human Right and Paul Divakar of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights have reached out to extend their condolences to the family at All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) where his body was kept.
Speaking to media, D Raja said, "Muthu Krishnan was an active member of Hyderabad University Students' movement last year following Dalit Scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide. "This is really unfortunate that students like him ended his life like that. There should be a thorough probe into the matter."

However, while some chose to practice restraint others chose to attack the JNU administration for their lack of sensitivity in handling Krishnan's problems: "Delhi police, do you know what Muthu Krishnan was disturbed by? He was only disturbed by the character of JNU administration," Shehla Rashid, former Vice President of JNU student's union and a member of AISA tweeted.
Other student associations also voiced their criticism of the JNU administration. The Left-backed Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students' Association (BAPSA) said in a statement, "He must have felt humiliated for not being able to find a supervisor like others without any trouble. He told some of us that he felt people in his Centre, in School and in Campus don't treat him well as if he is not supposed to be here but, he is and that people felt uncomfortable in his presence." Emotions ran high on campus as some student bodies said that the JNU administration had shown so much "insensitivity" that no one had reacted to Krishnan's death. As JNU Students' Union president Mohit Pandey said on Tuesday, "No high official from the administration of Vice Chancellor and his team reached neither at the spot where he died nor at the hospital. The top officials of the administration have not cared to meet the family of Muthu until now."

Vice Chancellor Jagadesh Kumar, however, tweeted on Tuesday morning saying, "JNU community is grief stricken at untimely & sad demise of Shri Muthukrishnan J. We pray that God be with his family at this critical time."

Also terming it as a "collective grief", JNU Teachers' Association (JNUTA) said "we appeal to students to contact their teachers if they have been facing any inconvenience at the campus.
In his last Facebook post dated March 10, Krishnan, a first-year MPhil student in Centre for Historical Studies in JNU had slammed the recent prohibitory order by JNU authorities banning protests at the administration block. The student, a resident of JNU's Jhelum hostel, was found hanging from the ceiling fan at a friend's residence in Munirka.