It feels like we are living in a constant time of chaos. Every single day something or the other is happening, with normalcy and peace feeling like a distant dream. 

When the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) was brought up in December of 2019 it resulted in massive protests around the country that are going on till date, with no intent of stopping or slowing down. 

Well, at least until the government sees reason and decides to take back this discriminatory and frankly scary Act. 

It started with the Jamia Milia Islamia University in Delhi and has now reached Jawarharlal Nehru University (JNU). 

What Happened At JNU?

On 5th January around 7 pm in the evening a masked mob of around 50 people armed with rods and sticks entered the campus of JNU and started to attack students and teachers and vandalise the property. 

This attack lasted for around three hours which left, according to reports, 39 students and teachers grievously injured. 

It is said that some students tried to get some protection by shutting themselves off on a balcony while they could hear goons trying to break the door of their room and cussing angrily. Reportedly, two students even jumped out from their first floor rooms and suffered a fractured leg. 

There are also accusations against the police for intentional inaction since some video footage of the attack apparently showed some police officers standing and doing nothing while goons were attacking the students on campus. 

So far right wing organisations like Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), BJP’s student wing, and more have been accused.

After creating terror around the JNU campus, the mob eventually left but not a single one was detained or arrested. 

The injured students were eventually admitted to AIIMS from where they got discharged within a day itself. Reports emerged of how these goons had earlier tried to stop the ambulance from helping the students, even going so far as to break the windows and puncture the tires of the ambulance.

Just today on 7th January 2020, Pinky Chaudhary, the leader of the Hindu Raksha Dal or Hindu Defense League, has come forward and taken responsibility for the attack on JNU and its students and staff. 


Read More: As A Delhi Student, Here’s What I Think Of The Jamia Millia Islamia Protest Against The Amended Citizenship Act In The Capital


Who Is The JNUSU President Who Was Attacked?

The pictures of Aishe Ghosh, President of the JNU Students Union (JNUSU) with severely bleeding head and other injuries have been circulating all over social media. 

Ghosh originally hails from Durgapur in West Bengal where she did her schooling from D.A.V. Model School. She later came to Delhi where she did her BA (Hons) in Political Science from Daulat Ram College of Delhi University.

Ghosh has been pretty active in social work having worked with Asian Confluence and Middle East Institute in New Delhi. 

She has also worked at the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies in Kolkata and been associated with the JNUSU since 2017.

JNUSU President

Her father Debasish Ghosh is a Damodar Valley Corporation employee and he along with her mother, Sarmishtha, and  83-year-old maternal grandmother, Shanti Sinha, have all vocally supported her against the JNU attack. 

Her father was quoted saying just hours after the attack that, “I am not worried about my daughter. She is a fighter. Her cause is right and her methods are peaceful. My daughter cannot be stopped with physical attacks by goons.” 

Ghosh’s grandmother told Telegraph India that, “Aishe has always been brave and I am sure she will not stop her fight for justice after the attack. She will only get stronger. I fully support her. I am not worried or scared.”

Currently completing her MPhil/PhD from the School of International Relations at JNU, Aishe Ghosh has been the first JNUSU President from SFI (Student Federation of India) in 13 years. 

Ghosh won with a good amount of 2,313 votes out of the total 5,728 votes and her main agenda after becoming President is to keep the union from dissolving. 

She is also a Research Scholar at the Centre for Inner Asian Studies, JNU.

So it is quite surprising to hear that Ghosh herself had an FIR registered against her on grounds of attacking JNU security guards and vandalising a server room. 

She along with 19 other students were accused by JNU administrator around 1 pm on 4th January 2020, just a day before the infamous attacks. 

It was said that Ghosh along with Saket Moon and 18 others supposedly entered the Communication and Information Services office by breaking a glass door around the back of the admin block. They then trespassed and damaged fiber optic cables, servers and biometric devices.

Though it must be noticed that this FIR was registered on Sunday itself, the day of the attack, barely an hour or so before it happened. 

Ghosh on her part has denied these allegations and in an NDTV interview said that, “I have not done any violence. The police first need to have proof against me to take action.”

This brings up two questions regarding the JNU attacks and the FIR against Ghosh. One is in today’s times of HD video cameras and instant click photography, why is there not a single photo or video of this supposed vandalising by Ghosh and her clique?

Second is that, there is more than requisite proof of saffron goons getting into the campus and beating people till they were bleeding. Then why have they not been arrested?

Why was action not taken then and there and just like Jamia why were these goons not made to raise their hands in the air and taken to the police station in the middle of the night with FIRs being registered against them quickly?

In fact, we’ve even heard that the name of the girl holding the rod during the violence has come out along with her picture, so we ask what action has been taken against her?

And… aap chronology samjhiye, law and order in the country is under the Home Ministry, so is the police, and isn’t ABVP the student wing of the ruling party? 


Image Credits: Google Images

Sources: Telegraph India, The Hindu, Business Insider

Find the blogger @chirali_08


Other Recommendations:

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here