Protesters claim part victory as India’s JNU to share caste data

Students at one of India’s top universities have called off a 16-day hunger strike after claiming that the institution had agreed to request additional funds for scholarships and to share details of caste demographics on campus.

These were among several demands from protesters at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), led by students’ union representatives. Some 17 students embarked on a hunger strike in August, although the majority of them dropped out before the strike officially ended.

Protesters called for larger scholarship payments to means-tested students from minority backgrounds, seeking a rise from Rs2,000 (£18) to Rs5,000 (£45). They also wanted the weight given to viva voce examinations in admissions to research programmes to be reduced, as they said these discriminate against “underprivileged students”.

According to a statement released by students’ union leaders, JNU’s vice-chancellor told them part-way through the protest that there was not enough funding available to address these demands. This prompted the students to organise a march to the Ministry of Education to lay out their concerns, but they were stopped by police.

Higher education funding has fallen in relative terms in India in recent years, with the latest government budget slashing the money given to the University Grants Commission, which in turn distributes funding to universities, by 61 per cent.

On 27 August, the students confirmed that they had ended their hunger strike after the university conceded to some demands.

"Due to the worsening health of the hunger strikers, JNU [students’ union] has decided to call off the hunger strike,” they said in a statement. “However, our struggle is far from over. The mode of protest has changed, but the fight for our demand continues with renewed determination.”

The students told local reporters that the administration had agreed to increase scholarships if funding becomes available, to release details of student demographics and to institute caste and gender sensitisation programmes.

Students claimed that university leaders had also promised a return to the JNU entrance exam, but conflicting reports suggested that the university would not drop the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), a national exam run by India’s National Testing Agency (NTA), introduced in 2022 to determine admission into India’s central universities.

JNU was one of many universities that switched from conducting its own entrance exams to using the central system. However, problems with the exam, including alleged leaks of questions, last-minute cancellations and delays, have exacerbated concerns about the NTA’s ability to run tests.

A JNU official told the local press that the students’ union was not recognised by the university, adding: “We engaged in dialogue with the protesters as students of the university, focusing on their welfare.”

They said that data on caste was already collected during admissions and would be released “in a few days”, and that the university would write to the University Grants Commission to request more funds for scholarships.

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com