Students at Jawaharlal Nehru University went on strike on Thursday to protest against the rustication of five students for holding up the sale of prospectuses the day before. Nine students, including rusticated JNUSU president Sandeep Singh, are on an indefinite hunger strike, while many others are on a relay hunger strike outside the Administrative Block. A reduction in the price of the prospectus still remains the students’ main demand. They are now, however, also demanding the administration take back the rusticated students. The students said mass rustication remains the “only tool the administration has to fulfil its designs of destroying JNU’s character”. A few days ago, after protests by students, JNU had declared that prospectuses would be given free of cost to students from the Below Poverty Line. This was, however, criticised by the students, who want the price of the prospectus to be brought down to the earlier price of Rs120 from the current Rs 200.
