Skip to main content

Left youth bodies call JNU attack 'planned', SAARC varsity faculty is 'outraged'

By Our Representative
Several Left-wing youth, students' and civil rights organisations condemning the violence "planned and meted out by groups of violent goons allegedly from Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)" on students and faculty of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on last Sunday, saying, all the while Delhi Police, present there, refused to prevent the goons from entering the campus, and remained "mute spectators in this entire ordeal."
"What began as a peaceful procession by the JNU Teachers' Association was interrupted by masked mobs who entered the campus premises, armed with rods, and lathis clearly indicating their agenda to terrorise students inside the campus", the statement, issued on behalf of the Young India National Coordination Committee, said.
It added, "There are confirmed reports of students being badly beaten up in front of their hostels as well as being pelted with stones and bricks in other parts of the campus. Medical personnel were denied entry into the campus to tend to the injured. There are confirmed reports of ambulances being vandalized and medical personnel being assaulted and manhandled."
"In the past month", the statement reads, "Students in universities across the country such as Jamia Millia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University, Cotton University, and Gauhati University, to name a few, have faced the brunt of brutal violence, often state-sponsored, for having simply exercised their right to protest."
According to the statement, "The fundamental right to peaceful assembly has been snatched away from students. Students across the country are being pushed to live in an atmosphere of fear and terror."
It adds, "It is worth mentioning here that the politics of our country has been shaped by student movements, and student politics is an indispensable part of a healthy democracy. The ruling dispensation’s clampdown on students is a shameful reflection of their insecurity about student unity and activism."

SAARC varsity faculty condemns attack

In a separate "solidarity statement", faculty members of the South Asian University, New Delhi, "shocked and outraged" over an armed and masked mob entering JNU campus on 5 January 5 and attacking students and faculty members, said, "Universities are spaces for intellectual debates and dissent where students, researchers and teachers come together to discuss ideas and cultivate critical thinking."
South Asian University is sponsored by the eight member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) -- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Pointing towards how rioting went on for hours, injuring 40 students and faculty members, many of whom had to undergo treatment at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences trauma centre, the statement said, "Violence of any kind has no place at these sites of learning."
Demanding that the police and other executive authorities "investigate into the matter expeditiously and bring all the perpetrators of this heinous crime to book", the statement appeals to the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court to "take suo motu cognisance of this matter and direct the executive to act speedily and ensure the safety of JNU students and faculty members."

Comments

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'A disaster in the making': Expansion of oil palm plantations in Northeast India

By Rupa Chinai, Ravi Chellam*  Until a few decades ago, India was nearly 100% self-sufficient in edible oils, with a diverse variety of oilseeds that were grown and consumed sustainably in keeping with the ecological and climatic conditions of different regions in the country. Today, India is highly reliant on palm oil imports to meet its vegetable oil demands. 

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani*  A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid*  We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

40,000 Odisha adolescent girls ask CM: Why is scheme to fight malnutrition on paper?

By Our Representative  In unique a postcard campaign to combat malnutrition, aimed at providing dietary diversity, considered crucial during adolescence, especially among girls, signed by about 40,000 adolescent girls from over 10,000 villages, have reminded Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his government's Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), which converged with Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman  ( POSHAN ) 2.0 in 2021, is not being implemented in the State.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.