SINCE JULY 5, Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur has been warped in conversations, student protests and negotiations over a plethora of issues plaguing the university. The protests continued over July 6 with an official oral communication between the students and the concerned authorities of the college including the Vice Chancellor and the Registrar General.
Security concern for female students in hostels, prohibiting students from protesting: Range of issues raised
The dissent was staged by the students both on the main campus and Dongargaon facility relating to a growing number of unaddressed concerns by the authorities. Reportedly several students staying in the Dongargaon hostel, which does not form a part of the main campus, majorly female students, voiced concerns of feeling unsafe and threatened as the premise also houses predominantly students from other colleges. Many of the latter students reportedly have attempted to approach the female students and even enter the floors which were occupied by the female students of MNLU Nagpur. No form of security was present on the floors occupied by the female students of MNLU Nagpur.
The students demanded the deployment of guards on the floors which are occupied by the female students of MNLU nagpur which was agreed upon by the authorities along with the placement of functional CCTVs. This was agreed upon orally at the day of the protest and subsequently conveyed to students by those at the forefront of the protest. Additionally, the students residing in the Dongargaon hostel also alleged that they were unable to access the library which is situated within the campus. The students demanded an update on the tender which had been floated for undertaking the construction of additional hostels on the main campus along with the timeline by which the construction of the library would be complete as it remains under construction since more than five years now.
The students also demanded a functional canteen and a daily needs shop in the backdrop of the campus being situated nearly twenty five kilometres from the city of Nagpur with the functionality of the canteen often being disrupted due to the exorbitant rent demanded by the university inevitably making it unviable for any canteen operator to continue for a long period of time.
The students also raised questions on the often unchecked and unwarranted powers exercised by the wardens with the latter barging into the rooms of the students at odd hours, being unavailable for addressing the complaints of the students in the hostel or being dismissive of the complaints brought forth by the students. The students demanded a codification of the rules defining the extent of powers of the wardens whilst being mindful of not subjecting the students to any measures of disproportionate usage of surveillance of any form.
Issues pertaining to the dilapidated conditions of the gym facilities and the absence of regular cleaning of washrooms of the mess were also raised, with the students demanding the maintenance of hygiene and routine cleaning of all washrooms across the campus. The students also demanded the presence of a doctor around the clock on both the main campus and the Dogargaon facility along with the availability of basic medicines at both the places alongwith ensuring the autonomy of the students to choose the person accompanying them to hospitals devoid of any arbitrary gender restrictions.
The students also demanded the availability of faculty for various subjects across various semesters in the light of the semester having commenced for all the students with many subjects lacking any faculty to take lectures for the same.
A unique point in the dissent was the students’ frustration on the university’s characterisation of any ‘strike, picketing or gherao, hunger strikes, dharnas, group bargaining, sit-ins’ as leading to a disruption of the normal academic and administrative functioning of the university as a misconduct by the student in accordance with the MNLU Nagpur’s Academic Code of Conduct for the Students, 2023. The clause evidently classifies nearly all forms and variations of protest as a misconduct thereby curtailing the rights of the students to collectively voice their opinions and grievances before the administration and successfully instilling a threat within the students with respect to even thinking of spearheading a protest, becoming a part or lending their voice to any such protest.
What has MNLU Nagpur’s administration agreed to?
The immediate aftermath of the dissent has resulted in the authorities ensuring, on an immediate basis, a 24/7 ambulance services for both the main campus and the Dongargaon hostel.Cognizance has also been taken of the issue of functioning of water taps across the campus has been taken with the University Engineer making a report after the requisite maintenance work has been carried out, along with an audit of medical centre and the initiation of the recruitment process of doctors to be available on the campus premises and the deployment of guards at the Dongargaon hostel facility. The authorities have also agreed to meet with the students and intimate them regarding the work done or the modality adopted to address the other demands raised by them.
The concerns voiced by the students of MNLU Nagpur do not merely hint towards a standalone incident of a law university failing to ensure the basic wellbeing, safety and empowerment of the student community. As systematic issues relating to infrastructure and a host of other issues continue to plague students across other NLUs, student protests have been rising over the diminishing interest of the college authorities in maintaining the campus spaces and in fostering the law schools as spaces for students to ideally thrive and fuel their understanding of the legal profession and their role as lawyers.