JNU students 'raise stink'

Scholars who have not bathed in weeks led a unique protest for implementation of OBC quota in the varsity

Scholars who have not bathed in weeks led a unique protest for implementation of OBC quota in the varsity

While the restu00a0 of the city is on a cleanliness drive, Ravinder Kumar is going the opposite way. The PhD student of Jawaharlal Nehru University has not bathed in weeks to drive home the point that the admissions process at the institution is in as bad a condition as his personal hygiene.


SOMETHING'S IN THE AIR: Many JNU students are demanding proper
implementation of OBC quota in admissions.

Kumar has also not shaved and changed his clothes for an equal amount of time. He is one of the 'leading' lights of a group of students who want full implementation of the 27 per cent quota for students from Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in admissions at institutions of higher learning.u00a0

"My current state is akin to the admissions policy of the JNU. It stinks as bad as I do," Kumar told MiD DAY while leading a protest for the implementation of the OBC quota on the campus on Monday.

"We want the varsity to immediately bring out new lists for OBC students in accordance with the Delhi High Court judgment. JNU must give up its casteist policies. We will continue our 'being dirty' demonstration until they accepts our demands," he said.

Joining issue with Kumar and shouting slogans along with him in front of the administration block of the JNU were some boys who have just started to follow in their 'idol's' footsteps. The dharna, apart from the voluntarily unclean Ravinder, was a mixture of heavy sentiments, long-pending demands, and great energy of the seemingly offended students' organizations. Intellectual-looking men and women with a few musical instruments scattering before the building demanded social justice for once and for all.

Ravinder along with his small party of unclean men claimed that he might also go on a hunger-strike. Students from various political organizations like AISA, SFI were among those who participated in the placard-holding demonstration.

"The OBC seats must be filled by the casteist JNU administration. It is a denial of social justice, Vice-Chancellor Bhattacharya belongs to an elite caste, and he cannot deny students of their rights in a secular-democratic country," said Vismay, vice-president of AISA.

ORDER, ORDER
The Delhi High Court had rejected the faulty admission policy of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on September 7. The court has asked the administration that it must take all responsibility for the denial of admission to hundreds of OBC students due to the flawed 'merit-cut off' in exercise by the varsity.