New Delhi: Students at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) have allegedly been on edge since the authorities replaced the private security guards on campus with former Army men drawn from an organisation involved in veteran welfare.
The university has, however, clarified that there is no hidden message in the induction of 270 former soldiers to guard the campus.
The former Army personnel took position on campus last month, and will perform a role that was earlier entrusted to 500 private security guards. The latter, many of whom had worked at JNU for nearly 10 years, were verbally asked to leave work on 18 September.
Speaking to ThePrint, the university said the move was only a routine change of guards. According to JNU registrar Pramod Kumar, they tapped the Army Welfare Placement Organisation (AWPO) for security after the university’s contract with a private security firm expired and tenders failed to yield another contractor.
The AWPO is a welfare organisation of the Indian Army that was established in 1999 to assist retiring or retired personnel in getting suitable jobs. It is common for private firms to hire retired Army personnel as security guards because they are already trained in crowd control and reacting to emergency situations. “We decided to hire former service personnel as security guards after the contract with the last company expired,” Kumar said.
Students at JNU, one of India’s premier educational institutes known for a robust culture of free speech, however, fear that this could be an attempt to curb dissent and demonstrations.
JNU is known as a bastion of the Left and has often found itself in the crosshairs of the ruling dispensation, especially since the 2016 protest where students allegedly raised “anti-India” slogans.
“The hiring happened in a very secretive manner… The administration knows that there is some kind of solidarity among workers, guards and the students, which is what the administration does not like,” said Aishe Ghosh, president of the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU). “It thinks that a guard’s job is only to beat people up and restrict voices.”
Ghosh also questioned why the security force for the campus had suddenly been halved. “A smaller number of guards… means a lot of places such as hostels and libraries will be left unmanned,” she added.
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‘Don’t know if service personnel will fit in’
Saloni Pandey, another JNU student, said she was apprehensive about how the former service personnel will fit into the university environment. “We have spoken to some of the guards and they told us that this was their first posting in a set-up like this. It will take time for them and us to get used to this arrangement,” she said.
Meanwhile, labour rights activists have expressed fears that JNU may similarly replace other contractural employees, while reiterating the students’ concerns about bringing in former soldiers.
“There is no study to prove that former service personnel have proven to be good security guards. We fear the university has got them so that they can instil more fear in the minds of students and restrict protests,” said Abhishek Singh, general secretary of All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), who has helped the former security guards file a petition in the Delhi High Court against their dismissal.
Singh, a JNU alumnus, added, “Replacing people has never happened in JNU. Contracts have ended but people remain the same. With this move, the university seems to have started a new trend and we fear it will lead to more job losses.”
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Reinstated guards don’t do ‘actual work’
The security guards whose services were terminated approached the Delhi High Court in September, following which JNU was asked to reinstate 11 of them. But according to Gunjan Singh, the lawyer representing the guards, those brought back have only been employed as a “formality”.
“They only sign the register and not do any actual work. It seems that the university administration is doing this so that they can sack them again, citing no work,” said Singh.
According to their petition, a copy of which is with ThePrint, 500 security guards who had been employed in the university for the past 5 to 10 years were not even given a termination letter by the university administration and only “told” to stop coming to work.
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If there are not into any criminal activities why are they so afraid? why did these great security guards who were there earlier not protect students from being kidnapped?
Looks like the old security guards were part of the tukde tukde gang. Now that these guys will start doing actual security duties, these anti nationals will be exposed
Huge security number itself shows that JNU is a hot bed for Anti-National political elements, otherwise this much security personnel is not at all required for any educational institution.
Dogle leftiest many times called Japan’s welfare doesn’t matter for seat of power, they use them. But it seems they are really culprit as they making nautanki of placement of retired jawan as workers. Do they not know they are not government employees, hey are labour under contractor with limited salaries as security guard. They live their life with combo of pension and this tiny salaries with 12 hours on-off system duty. Why they have fear. Friend is not fear, it is a shaitan in culprit mind of so called students, otherwise there would not be any ruckus in the name of meaning propaganda.
This is an honest , fair and best job done by JNU administration. All corrupt and anti national students and union leaders must be thrown out of the University. They are enjoying and involved in all sorts of nefarious activities other than studies at the cost of fax payer’s money. I fully support this moov.
I am Of that view that this institution should be banned, and all its activities should be put under scanner. From last several years this JNU is hot breeding ground for all anti national elements.
There are other universities in India also, where students take there studies and make careers in there respective fields, but if selected to JNU you have a career of spoiler of National sentiments.
At age of 24 I took the Masters degree in Commerce and at age of 28 MPhil from Mumbai University, but at our University, I and all other my fellow colleagues have never taken any issue relating to National pride or its integration.
But if you are a student of JNU, then age never matters, even at my age of 36 years now, all JNU intellectuals are students!!!
What a shame…..
Its a shame on that name…..Jawaharlal Nehru…
JNU is an educational Institute. The type of Security required here is much different than that of an industrial security requirements. Dealing with incidents in a University System is a totally different ball game. One needs to deal with authority but also with soft hands. In an University, there are incidents like eve teasing, crime against women, impersonation as students by outsiders, thefts in hostels or academic area, incidents involving staff, consumption of drugs and alcohol by students, staff and also faculty, demonstrations, fire incidents, event management, traffic management, access control , gate management in terms of personnel and material. After putting in 3 decades of service in such an environment, my experience had been to have a judicious mixture of civilians and ex-servicement. Having only ex- servicemen can be counter productive. Long absenteeism during festival season, harvest season and frequent changes are drawbacks which effect daily operations. Proper and frequent training of mixed workforce consisting of ex- servicemen and civilians proved to be a good recipe for me.
Now how do we assume that the agency is not capable of taking care of this?
Rather than getting bothered about some students being uncomfortable with security person with superior training being deployed on campus,the Univ admin now should move quickly to first evaluate and then rusticate students who flour Univ rules and regulations and seem time for every issue ,other than their studies and timely exit to the job market.Time to stop this misuse and loot of tax payers money.
Also,Univ should ensure that no outsiders should be allowed to camp,enter or stay in the JNU campus without proper authorization.
This will be a lesson for all who dare to say or do anything against the University administration. What a change
JNu students better start being “students” .Their agenda seems to be only negative . They should not forget that by their activities they are wasting tax payers money which enables them all the facilities in JNU. In fact the students get free rooms and scholarship only for three years beyond which they ought to fend for themselves . Any further mischief they cause under the name of “freedom of speech ” should be taken seriously by the authorities and JNU should be disbanded .
Why should the Lefties of JNU get worried about ex-Army men getting jobs there? I mean, haven’t these guys spent their lives preaching to us about ensuring all workmen get their due and that their services must be recognised by society?
Why turn hypocrites now?
JNU students and their pseudo seculars always try to behave in a strange and odd fashion. Why there should be a problem in engaging ex servicemen and that too directly from the ex servicemen organisation thereby eliminating middlemen and their cuts. Ex-servicemen are among the better disciplined and trained people in guarding and security activities. It’s a very good move. The JNU adminstration should brush aside all such objections
Places like JNU have become hotbed for young minds to get corrupted and for the peddlers and politicians to exploit them. Many youngsters are corrupt to begin with and can be seen in their quest for everything other than studies and scholarship. JNU and such need to be weeded out of entrenched bad elements at all levels for decades. I support even harsher stand by authorities; parents need to watch their kids and their activities and censure suitably. Hope and pray that Indian universities do not become like western counterparts which are centers for hypocrisy and intolerance. Jai New India.
Sir,
JNU dont have any young minds, all of them are above the age of 32…who preach anti national themes.
I am sure at this age myself and yourself are parents of atleast one kid.. (I was)
Remove all security from campus for a year and see if these students need this security at all. Why waste national resources on them who don’t need it? They want staff, academicians, security and all other things of their choice but nothing in return?
Appropriate move by varsity authority. Only dirty minds are scared and seeing strong action. All others are happy. When competent personnel are on duty we should be happy. Then why this cry? In fact for real studious students this hardly matters who is guarding the campus.
Nothing to worry. A security set up by ex servicemen should be welcomed. I am sure they will perform their duty within the laid down parameters
In this country we want the authorities do everything other than discipline us. Often the security firms are run by ex-army personnel, but that is only as far as the licence is concerned. The firms employ people from the poorest of the poor parts of the country on minimum possible wages and zero training.
When a retired army men with full training and discipline are available why not use them ? The answer is simple such force will demand full entitlements and not allow the employer to share the loot with a third party. Besides they will work to their mandate and not accommodate bosses for their personal chores. That is the reason , despite demands the ex-servicemen have not been drafted into the police force.
A false narrative. Army personnel who retire at an early age seek re-employment as security guards. The Directorate General Resettlement allot number of vacancies to Ex-Servicemen Security agencies run by former Army officers employing retired jawans. Sad people are bringing politics into this re- employment scheme.
Did these students come here to study and educate themselves or involve in everything else except that. It’s funny, when a place does the exact opposite of what it claims to do, then hiring army personnel might be the right thing to do true to the history of doing the opposite. If students can, do can the administration.
JNU students are afraid of former Army personnel. It simply points to their dark intentions and plottings. Ms. Ghosh’s statement clearly gives away the information that the existing guards were in cahoots with the students organizations and helped them in their anti-social agenda. Now that former Armymen will be manning the campus things will get tougher for these student organizations.
Kudos to the JNU administration for thinking out of the box and taking a positive step.
Fantastic move. I support this. Also the University should limit the tenure of students studying there to just about 5 years. Then they should be booted out after that.
अब और कुछ नहीं तो पूर्व सैनिकों को बदनाम शुरू कर दिया , इन च…… जेनयू वालों ने
Aap BNMU se 5 saal me graduation karke dikhane dijiye.
Aap MA, M Phil aur PHD 5 saal me poora Kar ke GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORD ME apna Naam darj Kara lijiye.
Why should anyone be apprehensive unless one is guilty? The statements issued by the Left students union lend credence to this question.
I expect Azaadi from JNU communists after this move. Am sure army veterans who value Nation at the highest pedestal will instill the same values into these leftists free leaders & fake social activists.
Ex Army men and women make excellent security guards. In fact many security agencies prefer them.
So what is all these NONSENSE?
Is JNU not in India?
Only when u do wrong things u need to be scared.. as it’s happening here. It’s right move appointing tight security in jnu.
great satire
Hope they help identify track anti-indian elements. Train them in hi-tech so they can use tech in the process.
Bringing in Army to the sacred Nehrujis campus is a sacrilege. Nehruji wanted to dissolve army and this insensitive government is Bringing army to an institution bearing his name is the worst thing they can ever do to his memory. Now also it is not too late they can change the plan by bringing in Chinese and Pakistani gaurds. That way it will honour Nehrujis concept of panchasheel and Hindi chini Bhai Bhai…
Superb !!
Wonder after reading the article which promotes job sanctity of guards who worked for security agencies and not JNU. Of dharnas and anti – India sloganeering(include thought) & not protests for better educational facilities. Free lodging, food & entertainment (sex) is all that the communist freelancers want & get.
The country pays 2 crore per leftie free loader, who in the garb of education are busy building their political careers at the cost of those who want to finish their course & move on to their future.
True acts of Nehru building India, through Panchsheel and communism getting illegitimate support from those promoting Anti-India sentiment.
Shame on Print, for this spin doctored article.
Nehru was intolerant tyrant who persecuted the Hindus and defamed RSS. He was also a stupid person whose stupid decisions lead to India remaining backward economically for a long time. He was instrumental in partition of India hence should be accountable for millions of death. He was a mass murderer with no remorse.
You are a great India. Nehru as you say was a fool.He focused on education, engineering Colleges, improvement of modern technology and Medical College. Just wasted money. Had he prepared Bujrung…there would have been great unity among people and n India. One if my cousins Professor Matin Zuberi was at JNU. He was also a meme et of the Security Avisory Council and wrote number of articles on neuclear weapons. My wife and I busted him several times. JNU looked like a prosperous academic institution tome. What do I know I spent my entire life in academic world, so whatever I say has no relevance in this enlightened national discussion how a University should operate, and why Nehru or his daughter were such idiots to institutions like this.
Traitors beware. Real guards are on duty.
i hope the veterans do their duty within their parameters and guard duty for which they are assigned for
i hope with some hardware
It is more a negative article with shabby explanations to fill up the space.
Good, it’s about time. The next time someone says azadi for Kashmir or tukde-tukde, they can be dealth with the army way. I fully support this move.
This statement cannot be right.
You are a great guy. Don’t let anyone open his/her mouth. Any one who opens his mouth for academic freedom or general social and economic welfare, if you have your way, should be locked behind the bars and throw away the keys. I am glad I am no longer living in India. In America, I can still do that even though Mr. Trump is our President.