Former students and activists join JNU students protest against fee rise

In support of students from Jawahar Lal Nehru university a prestigious public university, hundreds in Delhi rallied in their support against the recent proposal of fee hike.

The protestors chanted the slogans such as "Affordable education for all" and "Fight for your rights" amid concerns the rise in hostel and mess charges announced last month at JNU would make the education and housing unaffordable for most students.

Remarking the government as "Anti-Poor" the demonstrators march towards India's parliament building, barely 3km away, a massive contingent of police force resisted them.

The protest began in late October after the rent in JNU hostel was increased to $8 a month from less than $1, and the security deposit in hostels was doubled to nearly $160.

The JNU Student's Union which has been leading the protests said nearly half of the university's students belonged to families with less than 144,000 rupees ($2,018) of annual income and would find it challenging to study further.

The students are also demonstrating against what they called "regressive" hostel rules regarding what they wear or restrictions on going out. They have been demanding that the vice-chancellor should be sacked for taking such "anti-student measures".