Funding received by JNU was highest during Modi govt: RTI reveals that university also faced more FIRs

A Right to Information (RTI) request filed by a Pune activist Praful Sarda revealed that Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has got the highest funding under the PM Narendra Modi-led NDA government. This came to light after the activist asked for every information related to the subsidies given to JNU during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure and the previous decade.

This comes at a time when JNU has been embroiled in several controversies from raising anti-national slogans to campus protests by so many students led by Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid. It is also been accused of showing leniency towards left ideologies.

The RTI response further showed that JNU received a total subsidy of Rs 2,055 crore from 2004–05 to 2014–15. However, from 2015–16 to 2022–23, this subsidy increased to Rs 3,030 crore. This indicates that JNU received 1.5 times more funding during the Modi government's tenure than in the previous decade.

While examining the number of FIRs filed against JNU students, it was revealed that before 2016, a single FIR was not registered against the university. However, since then, the JNU administration has lodged 35 FIRs against its students.

Sarda faced several hurdles while digging out the detailed information on these FIRs. He wasn't getting timely responses and complete information on the FIRs by going through the RTI route. 

"In 2016, for the first time in JNU's history, 35 FIRs were registered by the JNU administration. They did not share the names or the number of people involved. Many other details are still awaited. I just hope that this time, without further delay, the CPIO Central Public Information Officer] will respond promptly," Sarda added.

Sarda suggested that the government should invest in more national universities and support existing ones. He emphasized that universities in Mumbai and Pune should be prioritized, as they serve many students from rural areas.

"We need more national universities, and the government should prioritise giving this benefit to Mumbai and Pune universities. Every year, lakhs of students from rural areas take admission, and it will benefit them greatly," Sarda concluded.