Scholars, writers and members of the civil society from India and across the world on Tuesday expressed solidarity with the students and faculty of Jawaharlal Nehru University after Sunday’s mob attack. The statement, signed by 8,747 persons, condemned the attack by masked assailants in the university’s premises.
A masked mob, allegedly comprising Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad members armed with sticks and hammers, attacked students on JNU campus on Sunday evening. At least 34 people, including teachers, were injured in the violence. Later on the same night, a group of right-wing activists sloganeering outside the university’s main gate heckled, abused and threatened several journalists reporting on the violence.
The signatories noted the sequence of events that occurred on Sunday following the violence and said that they were forced to conclude that the university’s administration and Delhi Police “were complicit in facilitating the attack”. They called for the resignations of Registrar Pramod Kumar and Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar, adding that they should assume moral responsibility for “their failure to guarantee the safety of their students and faculty”.
“Such a total breakdown in campus safety is unconscionable,” the statement read. “We demand prompt medical aid to those injured. We demand a fair and impartial inquiry into the events of January 5 that will hold the perpetrators of the attack accountable. We stand in solidarity with our colleagues, students and faculty at JNU.”
The signatories included filmmaker and writer Ali Kazimi, filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, writer and actor Jayant Kripalani, author Mira Kamdar, journalist Seema Chishti, among others.
The group criticised the JNU administration for failing to respond faster even though students reported continued violence. “Videos emerged from JNU showing very little visible presence of the police while the attack was underway,” the statement read. “The Registrar of JNU issued a statement only at 9 pm, two hours after the attack had begun. The Vice Chancellor at the time of writing this statement has done little to reassure students or faculty of their physical wellbeing.”
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‘Systematic attack’: Students, faculty of IIT Bombay and IIM Calcutta condemn JNU violence
Read live updates on the situation at JNU here.
Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar on Tuesday described the violence as “unfortunate” and said that he hoped the injured students recovered quickly. Kumar urged students to return to the campus and said that it was a “secure place”.
The vice chancellor had on Monday said that the origin of the prevailing situation in JNU “lies in some agitating students turning violent and obstructing the academic activities of a large number of non-protesting students”.
The statement by the scholars said the university had a history of “inclusive admissions policies and a questioning academic culture”. It noted that the attack on the university came 23 days after alleged police violence in Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi, Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh, and Cotton University in Assam for protesting against what they said were “discriminatory policies” of the Centre.
“Instead of police, this time masked goons are deliberately creating a ‘culture of fear’ on public university campuses,” it added. “Police inaction at JNU on January 5 enabled the attackers to proceed unhindered. Public university campuses offer a safe, unarmed space for debate, discussion and learning for students from diverse regional and class backgrounds. They are the lifeblood of democracy.”
ABVP members have blamed “Naxals” and leftist students for the violence. However, several students alleged that the violence had been perpetrated by members of the ABVP, which is the students’ wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ideological parent.
Scroll.in has traced WhatsApp messages planning the attack on JNU students – as well as celebrating it – to ABVP activists.
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