New Delhi, Oct. 25: Jawaharlal Nehru University teachers have appealed to students to reassure the minorities on campus that "they stand with them and for their security", on the eleventh day after Najeeb Ahmed went missing.
The appeal, so far signed by at least 70 teachers including two deans and five chairpersons of academic centres, has also warned against "further division along communal lines".
Biotechnology fresher Najeeb went missing on October 15 following a clash with the ABVP over hostel elections. Teachers have come under flak from some students for making the JNU students' union call off a gherao of vice-chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar and other officials.
The appeal says: "Our response to the present crisis must be to reassure all those who have been made insecure by it, particularly all minorities and socially disadvantaged sections, that the whole JNU community stands with them and for their security, and that it will continue to combat communal and other divisions with the bonds of mutual respect and secularism....
"The very least the JNU administration can do at this juncture is to issue a press release detailing all the steps it has taken thus far in facilitating the search for Najeeb, including its own efforts as well as its communications to the police and other authorities, and thereafter issue daily bulletins on the developments in the search."
An academic centre chairperson who signed the appeal said the focus now needed to shift from the hostel clash to the search for Najeeb. "Communal feelings are on the rise due to the lack of communication by the VC about the police search and the fact that no action has been taken yet on the hostel clash.
"This is getting worse as the boy is still missing. This appeal is for everyone in campus to reassure Muslims that this is not a communal campus and they will always be safe here."
In a press release last week, the administration had termed Najeeb an "accused" in a "complaint of physical violence" in Mahi Mandavi hostel.
The teachers' appeal said: "... we condemn the JNU administration's callous handling of the matter to date, starting from the fact that the initial action recommended by the Mahi-Mandavi wardens on 15 October only acted upon the complaint against Najeeb, and did not even record the fact that Najeeb had been subjected to a severe beating by persons who were not involved in the initial altercation, in the presence of several independent eyewitnesses including the wardens."
Representatives of the JNU teachers' association met lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung today. JNUTA president Ajay Patnaik said Jung had assured them that the police would update them daily on the search.
A delegation of the JNU students' union met Naseem Ahmad, the chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities. In its memorandum, the JNUSU said: "There is a sense of impunity among the perpetrators of violence and that is aggravating the situation of fear and injustice on campus."
The memorandum accused the administration of partisan behavior. A proctorial inquiry to probe the clash in the hotel is yet to conclude and no action has been taken on any student involved in the clash.
Student activist Heba Ahmed, who was part of the delegation, said: "Muslim students, who usually don't protest, participated in the gherao and others protests for Najeeb. This incident is symptomatic of attacks on minorities throughout the country.
"As long as Najeeb is missing and the proctorial inquiry is incomplete, I don't know how much this appeal will allay the fears of Muslims in JNU."
