New Delhi: Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav today described the police crackdown on the JNU as an attack on the “idea of India”, alleging the Kanhaiya Kumar episode was “carefully planned” to eventually “strike” at the very roots of the ideals on which this university was founded.
“JNU was founded with a vision and ideals of democracy. Today, this attack on students in the court and the aftermath of that campus event is not something surprising. This was a carefully planned attack to strike at the very roots of JNU. They want to make an example of JNU,” he said.
Yadav, an alumnus of the prestigious university founded in late 60s, however, said “JNU has been built with a certain vision and this crackdown was just a pretext to target the entire university. JNU was built with an idea, and that idea was intrinsically linked to the idea of India, of democracy. And, now an attempt is being made by them to destroy that idea.”
Note journalist P Sainath, who also joined the march of protesting students today in the heart of the national capital, expressed his concern over the current situation.
“This is very difficult time indeed. It is reminiscent of the Emergency era, except this one is more aggressive,” he said. The journalist also gave a talk today at the JNU campus.
56-year-old P K Basant, another JNU alumnus and currently a professor of history at Jamia Milia Islamia University said, “one colour of nationalism cannot be imposed in a country of such vibrant diversity.”
“What happened in JNU, with all this police crackdown and the attack on student at the court was condemnable,” he said.
Actress Swara Bhaskar, another alumnus of JNU said “she was more worried about this ‘hooligan nationalism’ that took place after the JNU event.”
Theatre personality M K Raina alleged that the “current government, by disallowing voices of dissent wants to create an army of yes-men with no brains of their own.