JNUSU ends hunger strike after 17 days, claims administration has agreed to its key demands

We engaged in dialogue with the protestors as students of the university, focusing on their welfare,

Dhananjay has lost more than 5 kg and has a ketone level of 4+, which indicates severe pressure on his kidneys due to the hunger strike. He has also developed jaundice and a urinary tract infection (UTI). Nitish has lost around 7 kg and has become extremely weak, suffering from severe joint and muscle pain,

The administration will accept all the positive demands of the students in their best interest. Anything beyond our authority cannot be fulfilled."

Due to the worsening health of the hunger strikers, JNUSU has decided to call off the hunger strike. However, our struggle is far from over. The mode of protest has changed but the fight for our demands continues with renewed determination,

Reducing the weightage of viva marks has been a longstanding demand of the JNUSU. Three committees have been formed over time to address this matter. The Nafey Committee, chaired by renowned scholar Professor Nafey, unequivocally recommended that the viva weightage be reduced to 10-15 per cent,

This was done solely for the welfare of the students, not to give anyone political mileage,

The university is currently facing a funding crunch. We will write to the UGC to request an allocation, so we can increase the scholarship amount as demanded by the students. As for the caste census, the data regarding the categories in which students have been admitted is already available on our website. That won't be an issue."

Despite there being no officially recognised student body at JNU, and even though the students were initially pushing for just two of their demands, we decided to address more. These include reopening the PSR gate, notifying Centres to hold SFC elections, requesting the UGC and the Ministry of Education to increase funding for student scholarships, organising caste and gender sensitisation workshops across campus, and providing data already available on our website regarding the caste categories of admitted students,