Several students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) late on Tuesday night marched to the Vasant Kunj police station in New Delhi to lodge a complaint against those who allegedly threw stones while watching a controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Gujarat riots. their mobile phones as the screening was not authorized by the university authorities.
JNU Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh alleged that the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), accused of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated student body, threw stones during mobile phone screening and a police complaint was filed.
The JNU unrest over the BBC documentary:
• Several students who gathered at the JNU student union office on Tuesday for a screening of the film ‘India: The Modi Question’ alleged that the university administration had switched off power and internet to stop the event and staged a protest after they were hurled at stones them.
• Later in the night, the protesting students, raising slogans of ‘Inqlaab Zinadabad’ and against the JNU administration, marched to the Vasant Kunj police station to lodge a complaint of ‘stone pelters’.
• “We lodged a complaint and the police assured us that the incident would be dealt with immediately. We have listed the names and details of all those involved. We are withdrawing the protest at this time. We will also file a complaint with the JNU Proctor office.
• On the power outage in the campus, a JNU administration official, requesting anonymity,”There is a major fault in the (electrical) line in the university. We are looking into it. The engineering department says it will be resolved at the earliest.”
• JNU Vice-Chancellor Santishree Pandit said that power failure has affected some parts of the campus. “There was a major breakdown in leadership. Faculty residences and other facilities are also without light.
The technical wing is looking into the issue,” Pandit said. JNU teachers confirmed that there was a power outage in the faculty residences.
On Monday, JNU said in a meeting that the students’ union had not taken permission for the action and it should be disbanded with a warning of strict disciplinary action. However, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) said in a statement that it did not intend to create any form of disharmony through the screening of the documentary or film.
Some media reports claimed that QR codes were circulated among students to watch the documentary on mobile phones. Videos are also doing rounds on social media claiming that Ghosh distributed QR codes.
Mohd Danish, Joint Secretary, JNUSU, said the administration cut off access to electricity around 8:30 p.m. He said while screening was not possible through a projector, students used alternative devices to watch the documentary and resisted the dictates of the administration.
ABVP denied the allegations saying that he was not present at the spot. “We did not go to the place and none of us (student body) was there. They are just taking our names to get more coverage. The Center on Friday ordered social media platforms Twitter and YouTube to block links to the documentary. The Foreign Office called the document a “propaganda piece” that lacked objectivity and reflected the colony.
