From Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, April 11: The North East Students’ Forum (NESF) has demanded 75 per cent of the seat allotment for northeast students at the new Barak Hostel at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
The NESF on Friday reiterated their disgruntlement following the release of the first list of allotment of seats in Barak Hostel with as many as 88 students out of which only five are from the northeast which is against the mandate of 75 per cent reservation in the hostel built with funds from Ministry of DoNER since it was meant primarily for the students of the region.
Upset over the absence of any reservation of seats for students from the northeast in the just inaugurated Barak hostel of the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University, the North East Students’ Forum (NESF) demanded the 75 % reservation of seats for northeast students. The forum has alleged that the university has reneged on commitments made during its construction with the North Eastern Council (NEC) and the DoNER.
The NSF students held a protest demonstration in front of the Dean’s office on April 7, the day it was inaugurated demanding reservation as per the MoU and promises at different times by the political parties and varsity administration, Dr Niborna Hazarika of NESF told The Shillong Times. There was no response from the JNU administration or the Ministry of DoNER on the issue.
Incidentally, the Barak Hostel, funded by NEC, was envisioned as a culturally sensitive and secure space for students from the eight northeastern states.
Following a spate of racial attacks on the students from the region in different parts of the capital including the heinous killing of a student from Arunachal Pradesh, the authorities assured that it will abide by the promise to reserve two-thirds of seats for students from the northeast.
Barak Hostel, an accommodation facility for students from the northeast community, was e-inaugurated at JNU by Home Minister Amit Shah on February 4, 2024, and the foundation stone for the hostel was initially laid in July 2017 by then Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh.
The hostel, named after the Barak River in the northeast, was built with a budget of Rs 28.675 crore. It comprises five floors with 228 rooms, designed to accommodate up to 446 northeastern students, with 75% of its capacity reserved for them. A MoU was also signed between the varsity authorities and the NEC for the project.