Barak Hostel: Northeast Students Face Disappointment over JNU's Failed Reservation Plan

New Delhi: On July 24, 2017, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) laid the foundation stone for Barak hostel, a facility specifically designed for Northeast Indian students, with a promise of 75% reservation for them. This was a groundbreaking move as it was the first hostel of its kind since the university's inception in 1969.

Named after the Barak river, which flows through Manipur, Nagaland and Assam, the hostel was designed to accommodate 446 students across 228 rooms and aimed to provide a safe, inclusive space for Northeast students on the campus, who often face discrimination and struggle to find affordable housing in Delhi.

However, when the first allotment list was published on April 8, the promised 75% reservation for Northeast students was not implemented. Of the 88 students allotted seats in the hostel, only eight were from the Northeast. 

The Barak hostel project had its origins in 2013 when the Northeast Students Forum (NESF) began advocating for the establishment of a hostel dedicated to Northeast students. In response to the 2014 murder of Nido Tania, a student from Arunachal Pradesh, the demand for such a facility gained national momentum. In 2016, the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) agreed to fund the project, and an MoU was signed between JNU and the North Eastern Council (NEC). The MoU explicitly stipulated that 75% of the hostel seats would be reserved for Northeast students. This agreement was a key component of the project, and students were assured that their needs would be prioritised.

The foundation stone for the hostel was laid by Union minister for development of the northeastern region, Jitendra Singh, in the presence of prominent leaders from Northeast India. At the time, it was again officially announced that 75% of the seats would be reserved for students from the region. The project was eventually completed in February 2024 and inaugurated by Union home minister Amit Shah, who described the hostel as a long-cherished dream of the Northeast people. 

On April 1, NESF leaders met the dean of students, Manuradha Chaudhary, who denied any official commitment to the 75% reservation. She argued that such a provision would go against JNU’s ethos, which does not support community-based reservations in hostels. She promised “unofficial” priority for Northeast students across the university’s hostels, but without any formal documentation to back this up. On the matter of cultural integration, she dismissed the idea of including Northeast cuisine in the hostel’s mess, suggesting that students could request such food only if elected as mess secretaries, just like any other hostel.

A silent protest was organised by the NESF during the inauguration of Barak hostel on April 7. During the protest, JNU vice chancellor, Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, specified that there would be no reservation for Northeast students in the hostel. She stated, "We [JNU] cannot reserve any hostel… otherwise, we refuse to take the hostel and make it into an administrative block... JNU follows the constitution of India… no separation of any identity on this campus."

This dismissal of the Northeast student community’s needs has left many disillusioned.

“When it comes to safety, we all remember the case of Nido Tania in 2014 – it gained national attention. But the truth is, many such incidents go unnoticed simply because they aren’t as high-profile. In those everyday moments, we do face subtle and direct forms of discrimination,” said Nokentemla Longkumer, convener of NESF.

She also expressed frustration at the lack of consultation during the protests by the JNU students' union when they demanded the quick opening of Barak hostel. “When protests began at JNU demanding the opening of Barak hostel, there was no consultation with Northeast students. Our concerns are pushed aside time and again,” Longkumer added.

Housing has always been a significant issue for Northeast students at JNU. “Housing is a major challenge for Northeast students. Finding safe and affordable accommodation near campus is extremely difficult. Many of us, including myself, have personally faced these struggles. On top of that, broker charges add to the expense, and some landlords don’t even allow non-vegetarian cooking, which is a problem since non-veg is a staple in many of our diets,” Longkumer explained. Further, she underlined that Barak hostel was supposed to address these issues and provide relief to students who struggle to afford housing and food.

Lawmzuali, an assistant professor at Mizoram Christian College and former JNU student and former NESF co-convener, highlighted the urgency of the situation. “We had high hopes when we learned that the NEC would be funding the project. However, when the construction was completed, the seat allotment still couldn't be finalised. By that time, the urgency was very high for Northeast students, many of whom were waiting for the allotment list while temporarily residing in PGs or at relatives' homes. The reality is that the majority of us struggle to survive here, relying on government stipends.”

Emphasising that the lack of representation of Northeast food on campus also remains a significant concern, Lawmzuali added, “One of the primary issues is food. Across the campus, there’s little to no representation of Northeast cuisine. We regularly see food from North and South India, but hardly anything from the Northeast. In 2018, when an attempt was made to serve chicken cooked with bamboo shoot, it received a lot of negative backlash,” Longkumer said. “For many of us, this matters. Some students can adapt to the food here, but not everyone can. I’ve heard from several students that they’re forced to get food from outside or look for alternatives, which adds to their financial burden.”

Despite these setbacks, there is still hope among some students that the NEC and DoNER will intervene, given the official MoU between JNU and the NEC. The Wire also contacted the JNU’s dean of students for comment, but no response was received at the time of reporting.

Kim Colney Guve is a journalist. 

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