9 BHU students served notice for demonstrating in JNU’s favour

A group of nine students of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi have been served a notice by varsity authorities for protesting in support of their colleagues in Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

The students associated with the Bhagat Singh Chhatra Morcha (BCM) had protested in November last year carrying a banner in Hindi saying “Narendra Modi Siksha Virodhi” (Narendra Modi, Anti-Education) to show their support to JNU students demanding a rollback in the fee hike and the police action against them.

BHU administration has asked the students, in the notice served a week ago, “not to indulge in any act of misconduct in the future failing which stern disciplinary action would be initiated against them.”

Authorities said philosophy research scholar Anupam Kumar, masters students Kumari Akansha and Vivek Kumar, under-graduates Ranjan Kumar Chandravanshi, Raj Abhishek, Shailey, Dipak Dhanraj and Ayushi Bhushan took out an unauthorised procession at Vishwanath Temple inside the BHU campus on November 19.

BHU’s spokesperson Rajesh Singh said the students must focus on their studies for which they are in the university. They must maintain discipline and follow all the rules of the university, Singh added.

BHU’s vice-chancellor Rakesh Bhatnagar had referred the matter to the standing committee on disciplinary action in November last year. The unauthorised procession involving the students was considered as misconduct under provisions of BHU calendar Part-II.

The committee had in December last year said the students took out the possession without any prior permission and that it affected people’s daily movement near the Vishwanath Temple.

It recommended issuing a strict warning to the identified errant students to prevent them from repeating such acts in future, saying strict disciplinary action would be taken against them as per university rules.

A student associated with the Bhagat Singh Chhatra Morcha said they will oppose the notice.

“On November 19, we protested against the lathi charge on JNU students who staged a demonstration against the fee hike there. Now, the BHU administration has served notice to us. This notice is unconstitutional. We oppose it,” Vishwanath said.