Student leader’s arrest leads to protest at India university

The JNU students’ union has called for a strike demanding the unconditional release of its president Kanhaiya Kumar, who was arrested on Friday over sedition charges following a controversial February 9 event on the death of Afzal Guru.

“Joint Action Committee for Social Justice (UoH) strongly condemns the attack on students all over the country, the planned attack on JNU students by the State, the arrest of JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, police brutality and militarization of campuses, the attack on University autonomy and constant State intervention in Universities”, it said in a statement.

“JNU has stood for excellence over decades, its students have always raised their voice whenever there has been any issue in varsities across the country…be it Rohith Vemula’s suicide in Hyderabad university or the FTII row”.

When the right wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad won a seat in the students’ union body of Jawaharlal National University after nearly a decade previous year, it set off speculation that the prestigious institution was perhaps not anymore the “left-bastion” that it once used to be.

A day later, Delhi police, who are under Singh, entered the university and searched dorm rooms and demanded audio and video recordings of the pro-Guru demonstration, and arrested Kumar.

A faculty of Ambedkar University said, “Today it is JNU, tomorrow it could be any other university”.

“Yes, he raised anti-national slogans”, he said when pressed further on the issue.

Mr. Bajpai, an MLA from Meerut, also questioned the silence of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh on the JNU controversy.

“The event could be in bad taste but was not seditious”, Nandita Narain, the federation’s president was quoted as saying by PTI. Kanhaiya’s arrest has triggered widespread outrage among students and teachers and drawn severe criticism from non-BJP political parties. “Whatever opposition the students have is against the present government and not against the Constitution”.

In Kolkata, students of Jadavpur University have been organising meetings and have organised a protest on Monday against “Hindutva fascism” on display at educational institutions. “As and when it comes, it will shared with Home Ministry”, he said.