JNUTA condemns police brutality, admin's inaction at JNU

After a clash broke out between JNU students and Delhi police, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association (JNUTA) has condemned the brutality towards its students and the administration’s inaction. The incident has sparked outrage among teachers after JNU students, who were protesting, alleged that ABVP members assaulted the JNU students’ union president.

The protests led by JNU students turned into a violent incident after police used brutal force, leaving several students injured, and also detained 28 students after 7 pm, including women, who were marching towards Vasant Kunj police station to file an FIR against ABVP members.

JNUTA has alleged that the police were driven by motives beyond simply “maintaining law and order,” and instead sought to suppress a student protest that was raising serious questions about the police’s own behavior — including accusations of violence, unlawful confinement, and derogatory remarks against JNUSU office‑bearers and school councillors during recent general body meetings.

A similar incident happened in the Delhi University BARC college when a teacher was assaulted in the presence of the police. The ABVP defended its member and shifted the blame to the teacher, describing the violence as “unfortunate and regrettable.”

Also read 'They grabbed her by throat': AISA urges students to stand against 'ABVP goons' in JNUSU election

JNU: Similar situation in 2020

The JNUTA teacher’s group has claimed that the Delhi police had previously failed to prevent the violence by masked hoodlums at JNU on January 5, 2020, and have not yet identified a single one of them in nearly six years.

They also called the police’s efforts to find missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmad “abysmal failure.” Meanwhile, the police used extreme measures to stop students from filing an FIR about the previous day’s violence.

The JNUTA has alleged that JNU administration, led by the vice-chancellor, is “at least tacitly if not actively,” encouraging the development of a similar situation as that which culminated in the mob violence in January 2020.

JNU’s student politics, including JNUSU elections, have had a tradition of being marked by a democratic culture free of violence.

The vice‑chancellor, despite being an alumna of JNU, appears to no longer embrace the long‑standing traditions that once defined the institution. The JNUTA teachers' group stated that viewing the recent violence and rise in caste-based abuse at the university as an opportunity would be risky. If the administration fails to act on such incidents, the consequences could be severe.

“We appeal to JNU teachers to remain vigilant in these trying times and speak up against this onslaught on democracy that is taking place through the combination of violence and coercion and denial of rights to peaceful protest,” the official JNUTA statement said.