No hostel reserved based on region or culture: JNU

In response to growing demands for regional reservation in its newly inaugurated Barak Hostel, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has issued a clarification, stating that no hostel on campus is reserved based on region or culture, including Barak Hostel. However, the university affirmed that students from the Northeast are being given priority in allotment, in accordance with official directives.

The university’s statement follows a silent protest by the North East Students’ Forum (NESF) during the hostel's opening, where the group demanded that 75% of the seats be earmarked for students from the eight northeastern states. NESF cited unfulfilled commitments, claiming that only five out of the first 88 seats were allotted to students from the region.

In a circular issued by the university, JNU informed stakeholders that hostel allotment began on April 8 in a phased manner and reiterated that priority has been extended to northeastern students in Barak Hostel. The circular referenced the Inter-University agreement and a directive from the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) dated October 10, 2023, which advised prioritizing northeastern students for the government-funded hostel.

“Presently, students from the Northeast are accommodated across all hostels in JNU,” the university said, emphasizing that the same allotment matrix will apply to Barak Hostel as per standard JNU policy.

The administration reaffirmed JNU’s identity as a central university committed to social integrity, diversity, inclusivity, and multiculturalism. The hostel manual, it stated, was designed to enable students from diverse backgrounds to live together, fostering cooperation and national unity.

The Barak Hostel, named after the Barak River of Northeast India, was officially opened for student accommodation on April 7. The university emphasized that while northeastern students are prioritized as per MDoNER’s instructions, reservation based solely on cultural or regional identity is not part of JNU’s policy framework.