North East Students’ Forum protests Barak Hostel inauguration at JNU

NE students accuse JNU administration of betrayal over reservation promises

The North East Students’ Forum (NESF) staged a silent protest on Monday, April 7, during the inauguration ceremony of Barak Hostel at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), expressing their disappointment over the administration’s stance on reservations for students from the North East region.

According to an update from NESF, JNU, during the event, JNU Vice Chancellor Prof Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit firmly stated that “there is no space for reservation for NE students in Barak Hostel.” Addressing the gathering, the VC said, “We (JNU) cannot reserve any hostel…otherwise we refuse to take the hostel…and make it into an administrative block. JNU follows the Constitution of India…no separation of any identity in this campus.”

In response, the NESF reminded the Vice Chancellor that “reservation is a constitutional provision provided as a form of affirmative action to support disadvantaged communities.” They asserted that “the clauses for reservations are an integral part of the Indian Constitution, and are the foundation on which the ethos of educational institutions has been built upon.”

Following the ceremony, NESF said that the Dean of Students (DoS) verbally assured them that the first allotment list for Barak Hostel would not be released before a meeting with concerned students from the North Eastern region. However, the Forum alleged that the JNU administration betrayed their trust by releasing the first allotment list for female PhD students on April 8, just a day after the inauguration.

Terming the move “extremely disrespectful,” NESF stated, “this unprecedented move of the JNU administration is extremely disrespectful to all JNU students of the North-Eastern region and is a gross testament to the ways in which students from the region have yet again been marginalised and ignored by the system.”

Criticizing the broader student community, NESF pointed out that “all JNU student bodies and parties, including the JNUSU, have side-lined the JNU students from North-East during their demand for the opening of the Barak Hostel,” despite being aware of the agreement between the North Eastern Council (NEC) and JNU regarding reservation of seats. NESF said, “this erasure of racial and regional minorities is a scathing reminder of how the JNUSU and the larger student community does not wish to recognise NESF as a legitimate student body.”

The North East Students’ Forum (NESF), JNU, in a statement, put forward a series of demands. They called for an immediate rollback of the first allotment list for Barak Hostel, which was uploaded on the university website on April 8, 2025, and urged the JNU administration to limit the first round of hostel allocations to only one-fifth of the total seats until their concerns were addressed. NESF also demanded a written assurance from the Vice Chancellor and the Dean of Students to reserve 75% of the hostel seats for students from the North East, as stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between JNU, the North Eastern Council (NEC), and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).

Further, the student body called for the public release of the MoU and all related documents to ensure transparency and fairness. Stressing that Barak Hostel was conceptualized as a safe space for students from the North East, they urged the administration to also ensure the hiring of cooks from the North East or individuals familiar with the region’s cuisine, arguing that access to familiar food would help students cope with cultural shock and feelings of alienation.

Additionally, NESF demanded that North Eastern students currently residing in other hostels be provided an option to apply for transfer to Barak Hostel. They emphasized that all students from the North East should be allotted a seat in the first hostel allocation list, regardless of their entrance exam ranks or marks. Importantly, the students insisted that all assurances from the administration must be given in official written format, stating that they no longer have faith in verbal commitments made by the Dean of Students.

While acknowledging the plight of dormitory students and their right to immediate hostel allotment, NESF reiterated that their demand is for the administration to honour the original promise of 75% reservation for North Eastern students. They emphasized that the hostel was funded specifically in recognition of the challenges faced by students from the North East, particularly the need for a safe space amidst ongoing racial discrimination in the city, citing the 2014 death of Nido Tania as a stark reminder.

“The cause for Barak hostel has instead been picked up by the JNUSU and other student political parties without consultation with students from the North-East, completely disregarding the existence of NESF,” it added.

MT