New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has pledged the harshest possible measures against students who chanted slogans targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a recent campus demonstration, emphasizing that academic institutions “can’t be laboratories of hate.”
In a statement posted on X, the university administration declared it would take the “strictest action” against those responsible for the objectionable slogans. An FIR has already been registered, and officials stressed that universities must remain hubs for innovation and fresh ideas, not platforms for hatred.
The administration made clear that freedom of expression is a core right, but it cannot extend to allowing campuses to become breeding grounds for animosity. It further stated that violence, illegal behavior, or any anti-national activities would face zero tolerance.
The incident occurred on Monday night outside Sabarmati Hostel, where protesters raised the slogans against the two leaders. A video circulating online captured the chants.
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The demonstration followed the Supreme Court’s refusal to grant bail to former JNU students Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. Organized by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU), the protest also commemorated the sixth anniversary of the January 5, 2020, violence on campus and opposed the court’s ruling.
JNU warned that implicated students could face immediate suspension, expulsion, or permanent barring from the institution. In its police complaint filed with Vasant Kunj station, the university described the slogans as “hate speech” breaching the JNU Code of Conduct. It labeled the actions as direct contempt of the Supreme Court and requested an FIR under applicable sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.