NEW DELHI: Protests at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), including the one over the Nirbhaya incident in 2012 and against a professor accused of sexual harassment in 2018, have traditionally brought classes to a standstill, kept senior administrators confined to their offices and dominated national headlines for days.Against that record, the response of the JNU campus to allegations of sexual harassment made by 11 students this May appears “markedly subdued.” The students approached JNU’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), alleging inappropriate conduct, sexually suggestive remarks and, according to reports, offers of higher marks in return for sexual favours. The professor has denied the allegations, which remain under inquiry.Even after classes resumed mid-July, the complaints did not immediately lead to sustained protests. Wider public attention came months later. The accused’s identity has remained outside mainstream reporting. Section 16 of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act restricts publication of the identities of the complainant, respondent and witnesses during ICC proceedings.The clearer contrast, therefore, lies not in the absence of a name but in the limited mobilisation around the complaints. There have been no prolonged class boycotts, large cross-campus marches, demonstrations outside police stations or weeks of posters, pamphlets and general body meetings comparable to earlier campaigns.Women’s safety has previously generated such responses at JNU. After the Dec 16, 2012, Nirbhaya incident, students demonstrated at Vasant Vihar police station and Munirka before joining protests in central Delhi. The mobilisation continued through campus meetings on sexual violence, women’s freedom and policing.In 2014, students struck work against the promotion of a professor while an inquiry into sexual harassment against him was pending. JNU’s decision to replace the elected Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment with a statutory ICC in 2017 also triggered resistance.A year later, allegations by eight women against a professor became a campus-wide cause. Students demonstrated outside Vasant Kunj police station. A subsequent march involving more than 1,000 students and teachers towards Parliament Street encountered barricades, water cannons and police action.JNU’s capacity for prolonged agitation has extended beyond gender issues. A Nestlé outlet near Tapti Hostel became a major political dispute in 2004 over the “corporatisation” of campus space. In 2009, electricity meters, eateries and an increase in the prospectus price from Rs 120 to Rs 200 sparked strikes and marches.The disappearance of Najeeb Ahmed, a student, in Oct 2016 led to weeks of demonstrations. At one point, protesters confined the vice-chancellor and other officials inside the administrative building. The 2019 hostel-fee agitation continued for weeks, disrupted a convocation and brought HRD ministry into negotiations.This Feb, the rustication of all four JNUSU office-bearers over an earlier stir against facial-recognition gates prompted a university-wide strike.However, rules introduced since 2023 have increased the possible penalties for protests, while the complaints this May seemed to lose momentum as they were followed by a semester break. Confidentiality around an ICC inquiry may also have limited public discussion. Together, these circumstances offer possible explanations for the quieter response, but do not fully explain why 11 complaints failed to become a sustained campus issue after classes resumed.
