Open Letter to the Teachers of JNU
09 July 2025 | Jawaharlal Nehru University
Image of posters put up by students on hunger strike
An Open Letter to the Teachers of JNU
From Your Students on Indefinite Hunger Strike
Dear Teachers,
We, your students, have been on an indefinite hunger strike for the past eleven days. We write to you as your own students, those who have learned under you, argued with you, grown under your guidance, and who now appeal to you in this moment of grave concern.
Several students have been on an indefinite hunger strike for the past twelve days with the four demands of reinstating JNUEE, stopping eviction of PhD Scholars, revocation of proctorial enquiries and increase of Merit cum Means scholarship. The indefinite hunger strike was joined by 14 students with over 230 students participating in mass relay hunger strike. Five students of the university including JNUSU President Nitish Kumar, JNUSU Councillor Antariksh, and other students namely Loni, Sourya and Manikant have been on hunger strike for the past 12 days, Abhisekh (Councillor JNUSU) has been on hunger strike for the past 8 days, Briti has been on hunger strike for the past 3 days while Rajat and Shrey are on hunger strike for the past 2 days. Meanwhile Manisha (Vice-President JNUSU), JNUSU Councillor Sunil, Krishnapriya and others like Vicky Mahmood and Neeraj had to withdraw from the hunger strike at various points in time due to serious health issues.
Our principal demand is the restoration of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Entrance Examination (JNUEE). This exam has long ensured that this campus remains accessible to students from diverse backgrounds across the country. Its continuation is essential for safeguarding the inclusive character and academic integrity of JNU.
The replacement of the JNUEE with a NET-based entrance test has deeply undermined the inclusive vision this campus has long upheld. An examination once designed to test critical, interdisciplinary thinking has been replaced by a standardised model that ignores the specific academic culture and social context of JNU. The removal of deprivation points has struck the most marginalised students the hardest, while the rigid, one-size-fits-all system has already narrowed the diversity of students and ideas that once defined this university. Faced with this attack on JNU’s core values, we feel it is our duty to resist.
This struggle is for the next generation of students, to ensure that they too have the same opportunities that were once provided to earlier generation students. We sit on hunger strike so that the doors of this university stay open for every deserving student yet to come; for those who dream of JNU as a place where academic freedom and diversity thrive together. Across the diverse political spectrum present in this campus, it is a unanimous position that JNUEE must be restored. Without it, the future of our university’s autonomy stands threatened.
We ask you, as our teachers, to extend your support not only in principle but in action. We urge you to extend your solidarity by participating atleast for one day in the hunger strike protest, in a way that best suits you notwithstanding the importance of your physical presence that will uplift the spirits of the protesting students. This is to show the unity of JNU community in demanding the restoration of JNUEE. This struggle cannot and should not be ours alone, it belongs to every stakeholder who wants to protect the soul of this campus.
We make this appeal with all the humility and love that we carry for this campus. Stand with us now, so that another generation may stand here tomorrow and say they too were given a fair chance. We trust you will not turn away.
Health Status of 4 students who are on their day 12th of Hunger Strike.
In hope and solidarity,
Nitish Kumar, President, JNUSU.
Manisha, President, JNUSU.
Munteha Fatima, General Secretary, JNUSU.
