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Education News

DELHI JNU (estb.1969) is a big prize and
Dim ray of hope status symbol. Spread over 1,019

acres in the heart of Delhi, it has an
annual budget of Rs.200 crore, hosts
8,800 students including 4,300
doctoral (Ph D) students in its 20
schools and specialist academic cen-
tres. International university ranking
agencies including QS and THE rou-
tinely rank it among Asia’s Top 100
universities. In the EducationWorld
India Higher Education Rankings
2023-24, JNU is ranked #3 nation-
ally and under the Union education
ministry’s NIRF, it’s #2.
Unsurprisingly, control and
command of JNU and JNUSU is a
high priority for the BJP leadership
and its ideological mentor organ-
isation Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS), particularly because
Newly elected JNUSU president Dhananjay (centre) & supporters intensely debated social issues such
as minority rights, feminism and
iving up to its reputation of Ajmeera (1,676). The votes polled socio-economic justice are anathema
being a bastion of woke Left by the presidential candidate of to it. Therefore, JNUSU elections are
Lpolitics, a students’ coalition of the Congress party-affiliated NSUI fiercely contested by its proxy ABVP.
organisations affiliated with main- aggregated a mere 283 (against 700 However thus far, ABVP has failed to
stream Left parties — AISF (affili- in 2019). A Congress party spokes- fulfill this wish of its parent organ-
ated with CPI), SFI (CPI-M), AISA person attributed its low vote share isations.
(Communist Party Marxist Leninist) to “half-hearted campaigning” to Nevertheless, following its sweep-
and DSF (independent Left) backed support the United Left. ing victory in the general elections
by BAPSA (a Dalit Ambedkarite The defeat of ABVP which was of 2014 and 2019, BJP has brought
organisation) — swept the Jawahar- fully backed by the BJP, has sparked this Left bastion to heel by other
lal Nehru University Students’ Union a ray of hope in the opposition IN- means. In 2016, Mamdalla Jag-
(JNUSU) elections held on March 22 DIA (Indian National Developmental desh Kumar, an obscure academic
after a hiatus of four years. Inclusive Alliance) — a coalition of from IIT-Delhi, was appointed vice
The posts of president, vice- 40 — opposition parties cobbled to- chancellor and served a six-year term
president, general secretary and joint gether in 2023 to ensure that the rul- during which he often cracked down
secretary in the JNUSU govern- ing BJP is not re-elected for a third on JNUSU activists for “anti-nation-
ing council were all bagged by the time in General Election 2024. They al” activities. For his tough stand
United Left coalition. A total of hope that the JNUSU election result against JNUSU lefties, in February
5,050 students who voted this year will be replicated on the wider can- 2022, Prof. Jagdesh was elevated to
(73 percent of 7,700 eligible to vote) vas. In a post on X, Samajwadi Party the chairmanship of the apex-level
gave the United Left a clear majority president Akhilesh Yadav observed: University Grants Commission. Sub-
against its main rival Akhil Bharatiya “The PDA unity has collectively won sequently, Dr. Santishree Dhu-
Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) affiliated all important posts in the JNUSU lipudi Pandit, former professor of
with the BJP which rules at the Cen- elections and defeated the BJP- political science at Savitribai Phule
tre and in several states and is widely backed ABVP by a huge margin.” University, Pune and reportedly an
predicted to sweep General Election PDA is a Hindi language acronym RSS/BJP “sympathiser”, was ap-
2024 scheduled for next month. coined by the SP leader to represent pointed JNU vice chancellor in 2022.
Dhananjay, a doctoral student pichhde (backward classes), Dalit “It’s pertinent to note that in the
of theatre and performance studies and alpsankhyak (minorities). recent JNUSU election, ABVP’s vote
(sic) of AISA, was elected JNUSU Although most political observers share has improved substantially.
president with 2,598 votes defeat- dismiss such speculation as wishful It’s only a matter of time when it will
ing nearest rival ABVP’s Umesh C. thinking, there’s no gainsaying that win,” says Makarand Paranjape,

16 EDUCATIONWORLD APRIL 2024