The JNUSU hunger strike at Jawaharlal Nehru University entered its sixth day on Friday as talks between student representatives and the administration failed to resolve a widening dispute over campus rules, disciplinary action, facilities and admission policy.
The indefinite fast is being held at Sabarmati T Point, with participation from student organisations including AISA, SFI, DSF, AISF, DISHA and PSA. The protest has brought together demands that range from restrictions on student gatherings and the rustication of union office-bearers to deteriorating hostel infrastructure, accessibility and scholarship administration.
At the centre of the dispute are provisions in the Chief Proctor Manual that impose heavy penalties on student gatherings. Protesters are also seeking the revocation of the February rustication of four JNUSU office-bearers, who were reportedly barred for two semesters.
The students have raised concerns over private third-party video teaching contracts in the School of Languages and are demanding the restoration of the independent GSCASH body for handling sexual-harassment complaints. They are also calling for the replacement of NTA-CUET entrance tests with a decentralised, university-led admission system.
Campus infrastructure is another major part of the agitation. Students have cited deteriorating conditions in older hostels, including Kaveri, Periyar and Godavari, and have sought better facilities at Barak hostel. Their demands include gender-neutral toilets, wheelchair accessibility and expanded library space. The list also includes transparency in mess bills, higher MCM scholarships for economically weaker students and decentralised processing of JRF fellowships.
The standoff intensified when JNUSU President Aditi, Vice President Gopika and General Secretary Sunil were summoned for a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor. According to the protesting students, the delegation reached the administration block but found the doors shut and had to wait outside. The students also alleged that officials discarded medical check-up records for the fasting leaders. These claims were reported by the union and were not independently confirmed in the supplied report.
The administration’s reported handling of the meeting has prompted the union to accuse it of authoritarian conduct and call for wider mobilisation. The student organisations organised a “Fight Back JNU” march from Sabarmati T Point to the East Gate at 9 pm as the deadlock continued.
The dispute has placed the university’s administrative processes and the condition of its student facilities at the centre of the immediate confrontation. The supplied report did not record an official resolution, a change in the disciplinary measures or a formal response to the infrastructure and financial demands. The hunger strike and mobilisation are set to continue unless further talks produce an agreement.
