Avijit Ghosh, Parvathy P
STUDENT union elections have been virtually suspended across the country. In many states elections have been banned for several years. Elections take place in a handful of central universities and among them Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) assumes significance. JNU elections are fought on ideological lines where student outfits led by muscle and money power, especially the RSS led Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), are rejected by the students. In different central universities and BJP-ruled states, they are finding various ways to prevent students from organising.
This year, the ABVP could retain the student union in Delhi University and win key central posts in the Hyderabad Central University and Punjab University. In JNU, the Sangh Parivar tried every means to capturethe union this time, aided and abetted by the Central government through the administration. It is in this context that the students of JNU gave a clear mandate against the divisive and communal politics of ABVP and Sangh Parivar.
In the elections to JNUSU 2025-26, students overwhelmingly supported the “Left Unity” panel consisting of Students’ Federation of India (SFI), All India Students’ Association (AISA) and Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF). Left Unity had a clean sweep against the ABVP in all the central panel posts. Aditi Mishra (AISA), K Gopika Babu (SFI), Sunil Yadav (DSF) and Danish Ali (AISA) came out victorious for the posts of President, Vice President, General Secretary and Joint Secretary respectively. In the Internal Committee elections too, the progressive panel of Garvita (UG), Shruti (PG), and Paran Amitava (PhD) secured victory against ABVP candidates. The trouncing of ABVP by Left Unity in the central panel was repeated by similar sweeping victories in the JNUSU Council for a majority of the Schools. Compared to the last two elections that took place after the pandemic period, this year the ABVP was pushed to the margin in the JNUSU Council. The decisive JNU election victory secured by Left Unity thus rejected the ABVP-RSS regressive brand of Hindutva neo-fascism, hate, patriarchy and casteism. This mandate upholds the university's inclusive and progressive character and is also a strong stand against the NEP, privatisation, fund cuts and the campus specific library surveillance and the CPO Manual.
Over the last decade, the Modi government has pursued various steps aimed at the privatisation of education, the New Education Policy (NEP) being a major step. The resulting educational structure has been designed to curtail students' opportunities for discussing or participating in campus politics. Simultaneously, there has been a rampant communalisation of education, a continuous campaign actively pursued by the RSS and the BJP. Ever since Modi came to power at the centre, JNU has remained a central target of attack and vilification. JNU hasn't just remained the focal point of Sangh Parivar attacks because of its left-wing student activism but the Sangh Parivar was opposed to the very idea of the university—its commitment to rational thinking and scientific temperament which posed a challenge to the RSS ideology.
In the last elections, the ABVP secured entry into the JNU Students' Union (JNUSU), capitalising on the lack of unity among left and progressive student groups. They won not only the Joint Secretary position but also a significant number of Councillor seats across various departments. Once inside the JNUSU, the ABVP acted as an accomplice in advancing the central government's agenda concerning the university. They became associated with the JNU administration's efforts to deny the Students' Union legitimacy and worked internally to sow division among the students. Their most notable recent act of disruption was the burning of a Ravana effigy during Vijaya Dashami, featuring the faces of figures like Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. Another divisive attempt involved creating a vegetarian and non-vegetarian split in the hostel messes. The ABVP within the JNUSU increasingly sought to establish an Islamophobic and communal atmosphere in a more organised manner. The recent election result clearly demonstrates the strong rejection of the ABVP's communal and divisive policies.
The reflection of this struggle by JNU students didn’t remain confined to this campus alone. Politics in JNU has never been limited to the issues on campus. It raised its voice on major national and international issues. JNU has been vocal and has always stood in solidarity with all anti-imperialist struggles across the world, including the Palestinian struggle against the Zionist genocide, propped up and led by US Imperialism. When movements related to these issues or struggles for students'
demands on campus have occurred, the Sangh-controlled university administration has tried to suppress these demands in various ways. Repression of dissenting voices has taken more stringent institutionalised forms. Not only did struggling students end up paying fines but they were denied their right to contest elections.
SFI has consistently organised students against all forms of attack on public education and campus democracy. Following this massive victory for the Left, which serves as a clear mandate against the anti-student policies of the ABVP–RSS–Administration nexus, the immediate focus must be on creating a safe and inclusive campus environment for all students. The fight must be strengthened to ensure equal space for women and gender minorities. With the continuous rise in cases of gender violence on campus, we must pursue two parallel goals, of making the campus gender-sensitive
through the proper functioning of the Internal Committee, and strengthening the movement to re-instate GSCASH (Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment)—a more democratic body that was dismantled by the RSS-backed Administration in 2017. Furthermore, just as caste-based oppression has increased across the country, its reflection is becoming increasingly evident in JNU. The focus of the Union should be to ensure an improved functioning of the Equal Opportunity Cell. The struggle for both has to take a decisive turn now.
A strong resistance must also be built against the centralisation and privatisation of education. The recent changes in the pattern of JNU's entrance examinations have increased the administrative interference which the RSS is utilising to the hilt. Furthermore, the removal of deprivation points for PhD admissions has disproportionately harmed students from the marginalised sections. This policy is directly contributing to a decline in the number of women in research; earlier, women comprised over 50 per cent of researchers at JNU, but this figure has now fallen to 37 per cent. This trend has to
be reversed.
Students are currently being deprived of essential infrastructural facilities such as hostels, with a significant proportion being outstation students from weaker socio-economic backgrounds. It is essential to ensure these facilities to safeguard the public character of the university. Simultaneously, JNU has faced severe financial constraints under the Modi regime, with its funding being slashed by almost 50 per cent. This has affected the central library, labs / workshops, academic welfare, excursions, and field visits. The new Students' Union will fight to compel the UGC (University Grants Commission) and the Ministry of Education to provide adequate public funding. The left student alliance presented these demands before the elections, and the results clearly demonstrate the students' overwhelming support for these issues. The challenge and fight in the days to come will be to uphold this mandate and build a strong movement against the RSS / ABVP–Administration nexus.
