Students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) have made their mark as firebrands. Besides strong student unions, the alumni also have strong connections with the defence institutes of the country.
The university provides academic courses to the students of six prominent defence institutes, including the National Defence Academy (NDA).
Now, ex-servicemen from the 54th NDA course who were commissioned into the armed forces in the late 1970s have threatened to return their degrees. In a letter to the JNU Vice Chancellor, the ex-servicemen say,
We the proud fraternity of Ex servicemen of the June 1978 Batch of National Defence Academy, who are proud recipient of the Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts Degree from your esteemed University, are today constrained at the ongoing anti national activities on your university campus like celebration of Afzal Guru day, and consider it an affront to be equated with the present student fraternity of the university which is indulging in such anti national activities.
We the patriotic Retired Officers of the 54th NDA course, feel that the present activities in the JNU campus negate the sacrifices made by the past degree holders of your esteemed university.
In light of above we, the proud, patriotic ex-servicemen of the 54th NDA course find it difficult to be associated with a university which has become a hub of anti-national activity, and would therefore, be constrained to return our prized and well-earned degrees to your esteemed institution if such activities are allowed to be conducted inside the University Campus.
According to the website of the the following defence institutes are affiliated with JNU.
- Army Cadet College, Dehradun
- College of Military Engineering, Pune
- Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering, Secunderabad
- Military College of Telecommunication Engineering, Mhow
- National Defence Academy, Pune
- Naval College of Engineering, Lonavala
An almuni, Sushant Singh, had a contrarian view on JNU’s actual association with the NDA.
The recent upheaval caused by an event against the hanging of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru has set a chain of student protests in motion. Among other government representatives, Union Minister Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani have termed the slogans raised in the event held on 9 February – Guru’s death anniversary.
The death sentence awarded to Guru, which is termed as judicial killing by the protesters, was carried out on 9 February 2013.
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