YFE Pamphlet 14.10.2008

YOUTH
FOR EQUALITY

14.10.08

Naked
discrimination

The
Supreme Court on 9^th of May 2008 struck down the AIIMS Act
2007 passed by the Parliament, which sacked Dr. P. Venugopal from
AIIMS. The apex court ordered the reinstatement of former AIIMS
director P Venugopal with all honours and termed the controversial
AIIMS Act as “naked discrimination” and “one-man
legislation”.

A
similar naked discrimination is going on since 2007 in JNU.
Discrimination on the basis of caste and unequal amount of
scholarship has now become the law of JNU. Also there is a policy of
willful offer of profit and loss to reserved category students and
general category students respectively. YFE sought information from
the JNU administration under the RTI act to know the genesis of the
problem. The answer shed some light on the willful negligence of
social justice walah of JNU. While there is a vast gap in the amount
of scholarship which is Rs. 3,000 and Rs. 5,000 for the general
category students and Rs. 12,000 and 14, 000 for reserved category,
the general category student community still to come in terms with
the yardstick taken to allow this naked discrimination. The RTI
answer said:

“The University Grants
Commission while communicating its approval of the fellowship scheme
@ Rs.3000/- and Rs.5000/- per month for M.Phil and Ph.D. scholars
respectively, has left it to the Universities to decide the date of
its implementation as per the availability of the funds under the X^th
Plan grant of the University.as already communicated, JNU already had
committed expenditure more than the sanctioned grant under X^th
plan and therefore, could not implement the enhanced fellowship
during the 10^th Plan period”

The
question arises are – for whom the University is functioning?
For the whole student community or for a select group of castes of
JNU? Why the financial crunch attacked the general category students
only? Is the university not committed to the welfare of the general
category students? What is the role of the JNUSU? Who will go and
request them to wake up from the deep slumber and force the
administration to equalize the amount of scholarship? Why the
expenditure crunch never affected the caste certificate holders of
this university? Why there were two different dates of implementation
of scholarship – one as back as July 2005 for the reserved and
one as early as April 2007 for the unreserved??

The RTI
further says:

“On receipt of advanced
plan grant for expenditure during the XI^th plan vide UGC
letter dated 9 June, 2007 the University had started payment of
enhanced fellowship w.e.f. 1.4.2007. It has been brought to the
notice of the University that some of the Central Universities have
been paying the fellowships @Rs. 3000/- and Rs.5000/- per month to
their students from a much earlier date.”

It was
Youth For Equality, which brought to the notice of the JNU
administration that Central University, Hyderabad, BHU and some other
universities have already been paying scholarship to their students
from the year 2006. It is now becoming a habit of the JNU
administration and left led-JNUSU to disregard all the aspirations of
general category students. The University has released grant under
XI^th plan as if it is doing a great mercy to the General
Category students. The Vice-Chancellor and other officials were
behaving as if they were giving this scholarship from their own
salary. But the same university opts for the mythical Karna like
generosity when it comes to the issue of scholarship for the reserved
category students.

Youth
For Equality consistently following the scholarship discrimination
issue. When YFE pressed for the equalization of the amount of
scholarship and date of release with that of the reserved category
students, the JNU Administration said:

“As already communicated
to the UGC the expenditure on account of payment of fellowships as
per UGC decision dated 1-2-2007 comes to Rs.11.00 crores per annum
for the current strength of the students. An additional sum of Rs.
19.00 crores will, therefore, be required for payment of enhanced
fellowships from July, 2005”.

Friends,
now it is clear like crystal that neither the JNU administration nor
the JNUSU were keen to fight with the UGC to equalize the date of
release of scholarships to both the categories of students. JNU
Administration’s limitation is understandable! Of many
compulsions one strong compulsion might be that of Prof. B.B.
Bhattacharya, who might be eyeing for a post retirement position with
the Government so he cannot raise voice for the General category
students! But what happened to the JNUSU? They are the most worthless
creatures for the General Category students! They never raise the
issue infront of the administration, forget about pressurizing the
UGC! What is the answer of JNUSU that why it allowed this naked
discrimination to happen?? Do the near illiterate communist led JNUSU
understand what the term GENERAL CATEGORY meant?? It includes all
including SC/ST/OBC/WOMEN/MINORITY/OTHERS/HANDICAPPED!