The JNU students’ union has expressed solidarity with the pro-Palestine demonstrations sweeping Columbia University and other American campuses, condemned the police crackdown on protesting students, and demanded the withdrawal of the cases against the students.
It has also decided to protest a scheduled talk on April 29 by the US ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, at the School of International Studies in the university to express opposition to America’s support for Israel’s war against Palestine.
Pro-Palestine protests erupted at Columbia University on April 17 and have spread to several other US campuses, with clashes reported with the police. Many protesting students have been suspended by their universities and over 500 have been arrested.
“It is deeply concerning that instead of engaging in dialogue, the university administration is resorting to repressive tactics,” the JNU students’ union said in a statement.
The JNU union added: “We condemn the university’s decision to suspend and arrest students for exercising their right to protest. This action undermines the very essence of academic freedom and free speech.”
“We also condemn and denounce our own RSS-backed government’s position of backing Israel, breaking from the historical stand of India.”
The demand to withdraw cases against protesting students applies to both America and India, JNU students’ union president Dhananjay said.
Protest ban
The centrally funded Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, has cited the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) of the Election Commission to ban protests and marches on the campus, a move students said was unprecedented.
Various students’ organisations have joined hands to demand the withdrawal of the April 24 circular, underlining that the MCC is understood to apply not to students but to political parties and their poll candidates.
The circular provides an “illustrative (and) not exhaustive” list of banned activities, which include the “screening, broadcasting, online viewing of any event, activity, seminar, workshop, meetings, etc, on political issues”. Students have been barred from using the institute’s property “for erecting flags, putting up banners, pasting notices or writing slogans” until the end of the general election.
Any violation will be dealt with strictly, the notice said.
Students’ organisations such as the Adivasi Students’ Forum, Ambedkarite Students’ Association, Fraternity, Muslim Students’ Forum, Northeast Students’ Forum and the Progressive Students’ Forum have issued a joint statement condemning the circular.
“It is important to mention that the MCC governs the conduct of political parties and candidates during the elections. Therefore, it cannot be just used to strip away the democratic rights of the students, who as citizens of the country have fundamental rights under the Indian Constitution to free speech and expression, assembly and association,” the statement said.
The MCC came into force on March 16 but the TISS circular has come more than five weeks later.
The students’ statement emphasised that TISS had never before imposed such a ban.
