'Genuinely concerned about the future of India': Chomsky, Pamuk, 87 others write in support of JNU students

Journalists including top editors on Tuesday marched in the streets of Delhi protesting against the attack on them by lawyers in the Patiala House court complex on Monday [caption id=“attachment_2627564” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. PTI[/caption] The role of the Delhi Police, which was accused of inaction in the face of violence, and its chief BS Bassi came under intense attack from political parties and journalists who demanded his sacking. As the political divide on the issue escalated sharply, some of the most eminent professors and intellectuals from around the world expressed their solidarity with JNU students. The group of professors, including Noam Chomsky and Orhan Pamuk, condemned the “nature of authoritarian menace” prevailing because of the government in a written statement. The statement, signed by 89 academicians, read: “We have learnt of the shameful act of the Indian government which, invoking sedition laws formulated by India’s colonial rulers, ordered the police to enter the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus and unlawfully arrest a student leader, Mr Kanhaiya Kumar, on charges of inciting violence — without any proof whatever of such wrongdoing on his part.” The statement flayed the Modi government policies and questioned the ground of arrest for Kumar. It also stated that such incidents “will bring great dishonour to the most prominent university in the country in the eyes of the academy all over the world,” and urged all those “genuinely concerned about the future of India and Indian universities” to protest in wide mobilisation against it. The row over JNU started on 9 February when the students’ Kumar addressed a gathering in the college campus and protested against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. Read the full statement here.