By Siddhant Mohan, TwoCircles.net
Facing flak over imposing restrictions on girl students in Banaras Hindu University, the administration claims that campus will not be made ‘JNU’ and it will function on values of its founder Madan Mohan Malviya and anti social elements are trying to disturb it since Prime Minister Narendra Modi became MP from Varanasi.
The issue has now reached the apex court after senior lawyers Prashant Bhushan and Neha Rathi filed a petition.
There are reports where University administration was accused of stopping the girl students from talking on the phone after 10 PM in the night. Another serious allegation against the university administration is that it discontinued the non-veg foods inside the mess of girls hostels.
Not only this, the girl hostellers have been ordered to not take any part in the protest in or outside the university. The university guidelines orders the girl students to wear decent clothes while coming out of their rooms in the hostel.
There are no such rules or guidelines against the boys living in the hostels. The parents can live for few days inside the boys hostels, but the administration’s guidelines do not offer such facility to girl students. The parents or relatives of girls cannot even enter into the hostel premises.
Roshan Pandey, a graduate student of the university is also one of the petitioners in this case. He said, “We think that the Supreme Court will do justice in this case. We are already honoured as the Court is ready to hear this matter.”
During the admission process, a girl student and her parents have to submit an undertaking affidavit with an affidavit to never take part into any protest and demonstration in the university. For the students, it is a step to kill the free voice inside the campus.
Mineshi Mishra, a hostel resident in Mahila Mahavidyalaya of BHU said, “When we met University administration earlier, we demanded a resolution to abolish such guidelines and rules. They paid no heed. Then students approached Supreme Court, and now we can at least expect some hope.”
In the light of such allegations, the university cites “Malviya values” and denies any such rules issued by it.
PRO Rajesh Singh first respected the judiciary and court, and said that university does not have any comment on the issue which is in the court. But soon he lost temper and said, “There are no such rules in the university. The hostel as well as the university is run by the guidelines which were made during the times of Madan Mohan Malviya.”
As per the PRO Singh, there are many “anti-social elements” which are trying to malign the university’s name. “It all started when Modi ji took charge of the city,” said Singh.
For BHU, whatever the rules are applied in the hostels, whether it be the timings of the hostels or the permission of them to take part in the protests, it is all to save the dignity and respect of girl students. During the talk, Singh told three times to this reporter, “Aapki bhi Maa-Bahan-Beti hongi, unki surkashaa to karni hogi.”
Like the one in the JNU, the activist are fighting in the BHU under a “Pinjra Tod” (Break the cage) campaign aimed towards defying such rules of the university. One student from Mahila Mahavidyalaya (MMV) told TwoCircles.net on the condition of anonymity, “I don’t know what the university will tell you. But I live in the hostel, and it is no different than what’s being projected outside.”
“What authority university does hold if I want to meet my boyfriend or someone else?” said the student referring towards the university’s assumption that if girls let free, they will get involved in “unethical” activities.
For different girls hostels inside the campus, University makes the different rules. As MMV hostel’s gate closure timings are 8 PM, the girls hostel for Institute of Medical Sciences has no timings at all. Students feel that this is not only the gender bias, but also is hierarchical bias.
University’s stand can be understood from the fact that before hanging up the phone, the PRO Rajesh Singh said, “We will never let this university become JNU, “ as he subsequently failed in explaining this remark.