NE students in JNU stage silent protest over hostel allotment

SHILLONG, April 10: A silent protest was held by the North East Students’ Forum (NESF) during the inauguration ceremony of Barak Hostel at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on April 7. The demonstration aimed to highlight what NESF calls a betrayal by the university administration over promises of hostel reservations for students from the Northeastern region.
The protest gained momentum after JNU Vice Chancellor Prof Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit declared during the event that there would be no reservation for Northeast students in Barak Hostel. In her statement, she 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.” NESF has countered this statement by emphasising that reservation is a constitutional provision and an essential form of affirmative action meant to support marginalised communities, including those from the Northeast.
Following the inauguration, the Dean of Students had reportedly given a verbal assurance that no allotment list for the hostel would be published without first meeting the concerned Northeast student representatives. However, NESF claims that this assurance was broken when the first allotment list for female PhD students was released on April 8. The group has strongly condemned this move, calling it disrespectful and an example of how Northeast students continue to be marginalised and sidelined within institutional processes.
NESF also expressed disappointment with student bodies such as the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) and other campus political groups. Despite being fully aware of the agreement between the JNU administration and the North Eastern Council (NEC) — which, according to NESF, includes a commitment to reserve 75% of Barak Hostel seats for students from the North-East — these groups have failed to consult or involve NESF in discussions about the hostel’s opening. The forum argues that this exclusion is a continuation of the erasure of racial and regional minorities from campus discourse.
In their statement, NESF has demanded a rollback of the current allotment list and proposed that only one-fifth of the total hostel seats be allocated in the first round to allow time for dialogue. They also called for an immediate meeting with the Vice Chancellor and the Dean of Students to address their concerns and to ensure that the 75% reservation is implemented as per the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with NEC and the Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER). Additionally, NESF has asked the university to make public the MoU and all related documents in the interest of transparency.
The forum also raised the need for cultural sensitivity in the functioning of Barak Hostel, suggesting the hiring of cooks familiar with North-Eastern cuisine to help students feel more at home and cope with cultural alienation. They demanded that Northeast students currently residing in other hostels be given the option to transfer to Barak Hostel and insisted that all students from the region be allotted seats in the first list, irrespective of their entrance exam ranks. Most importantly, NESF asked that any assurances made by the administration be given in writing, as they no longer trust verbal commitments from university officials.
While NESF acknowledged the urgency for dormitory students to be allotted accommodation, they maintained that their demands are grounded in a long-standing promise made to the Northeast student community. They reminded the university that the very idea of Barak Hostel was born out of the specific challenges faced by Northeast students, including discrimination and isolation, as seen in cases like the death of Nido Tania in 2014.
Lastly, the NESF stated that the struggle for Barak Hostel has been co-opted by student political groups that have ignored the voices of those for whom the space was originally envisioned.