Beaten But Not Broken, JNU Students Call Out Bias in Media

JNU students continue to demand fee hike rollback and slam biased media after the protest march on Monday.

(Photo: PTI)

Video Producer: Anubhav Mishra

Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma

On Tuesday, 19 November, a day after the protest march by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU), students did not venture out on the roads of Delhi, but their protest continued and the situation in the campus remained tense. Students, on Tuesday held a press conference, in which they explained what happened on Monday and how the police and a few media houses treated them.

They demanded that no administrative or legal action be taken against the students protesting against the hostel fee hike.

JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh said they had a meeting with the Joint Secretary of the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, GC Hosur, and requested him to ensure that there would be no administrative action against students.

‘Students have been getting notices through e-mail for these protests. But these protests are for a just cause and no student will pay even a single-rupee fine.’

Aishe Ghosh, JNUSU president

Shashi Bhushan, who is visually impaired, was allegedly beaten up the cops and was asked why he was protesting if he was ‘blind’.

I was shoved on the ground and beaten by cops. After that, they grabbed my neck, lifted me up and told me to get lost. I thought if I stayed, I would be beaten further. I ran and they hit my legs. I tipped over and fell. The student who tried to help me was beaten as well. This is called violence. Raising slogans with closed fists isn’t violence.

Shashi Bhushan, JNU Student

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police on Tuesday registered an FIR in connection with the JNUSU protest.

Students expressed their anger against biased reporting and raised slogans against two media organisations.

The press conference was disrupted several times, as few reporters accused the students of not answering all of their questions.

A clash had also erupted between reporters of news channel Republic TV and students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) about half-an-hour before the scheduled press conference.

Students agitated against the news channel after it alleged that the protest on Monday led to massive public inconvenience, including ambulances being stopped.

The students said that they carried out a peaceful march but the police barricaded the area and did not let them move forward. They also alleged that the police and the CRPF attacked them and also misbehaved with the women students and they will continue to protest till their demands are met.