AISA leaders in JNU seek crowdfunding to pay fines, say penalised for ‘peaceful protests’

The JNU wing of the All India Students’ Association on Tuesday launched a public appeal to raise funds to the tune of Rs 59,000 to pay the fines levied on students and pursue legal registration.

The university, issuing notices in October last year, had imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each on former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Nitish Kumar and former AISA JNU president Ranvijay each. The fines followed protests against eviction notices served to PhD scholars.

The AISA stated that it would continue to resist such actions, urging supporters to contribute to the fundraising effort, in a signed statement.

The two scholars were among those leading the protests against the eviction notices.

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The protests against the eviction notices had taken the form of a 16-day hunger strike, after which the administration agreed to allow scholars to retain hostel accommodation until the submission of their theses.

Speaking to PTI, Kumar said he has been fined Rs 29,000 in total. “These monetary fines are intended to stifle dissent. These measures will not deter us from raising our voice against injustice,” he said.

Similarly, as part of separate action in October, the administration fined AISA student-activist Manikant Rs 15,000 and suspended him for a semester, imposed a Rs 19,000 fine on Nitish Kumar, and fined AISA student-activist Mehboob Rs 5,000.

These penalties followed demonstrations against the introduction of facial recognition technology on campus and demands for basic infrastructure improvements at the Central Library on the campus.

Student groups allege that the administration is using financial penalties and suspensions to “criminalise dissent”, a charge the university has not publicly addressed in the notices.

The activists argue that none of the fines relate to acts of violence or damage to property, but to peaceful protests against what they describe as discriminatory policies.