Support pours in from across globe for JNU students

Even when the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students, are upset at being called "anti-nationals", support is pouring for them across the globe. Eminent academics from prestigious universities, including Noam Chomsky, Nobel Laureate and Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, and some 600 professors from the universities of Warwick (UK), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US), Boston ((US), and several others have expressed solidarity with the JNU students and faculty protesting the government action on campus. In separate statements, the signatories have also condemned "the culture of authoritarian menace that the present government in India has generated".

In a statement, academics at the Warwick said the universities need to be places of academic freedom where dissent and critical thinking must not only be tolerated but should be actively encouraged. "We want to assure the students, staff and faculty of JNU that they are not alone in their struggle. We, at the University of Warwick, are part of a growing global movement that seeks to condemn and resist the vicious attack on democratic norms, academic freedom and political dissent at JNU and in other universities globally," the statement said.

The American Anthropological Association (AAA), an organisation of scholars, students and practitioners said the Indian government's decision to arrest the JNSU president Kanhaiya Kumar runs counter to a democratic commitment to academic freedom. "The AAA joins the voices from India and beyond and respectfully requests that the India state withdraws its sedition charges, release all arrested students and faculty, retreat from its hasty sweep of forces and restore normalcy to self-governing campus," reads the statement.

Reports also said that at Harvard Square in Cambridge, students and professionals from various Boston-area universities, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, Northeastern University and University of Massachusetts (Boston) and several concerned citizens turned up to condemn the the police action against the JNU students.

Another statement signed by JNU alumni that also included 455 academic across globe, said an open, tolerant, and democratic society was inextricably linked to critical thought and expression cultivated by universities in India and abroad. "As teachers, students, and scholars across the world, we are watching with extreme concern the situation unfolding at JNU and refuse to remain silent as our colleagues (students, staff, and faculty) resist the illegal detention and autocratic suspension of students. We urge the Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University to protect members of the university community and safeguard their rights," the statement said.

Eminent intellectuals including Noam Chomsky and author Orhan Pamuk in a separate, statement also signed by 455 academics across globe said the actions of the police have brought great dishonour to the government.

They also said the unsubstantiated charges against students have brought great dishonour to the most prominent university in the eyes of the academy all over the world. "We, the undersigned, take a stand of heartfelt solidarity with the students and faculty of Jawaharlal Nehru University in their efforts to resist these developments on its campus and, in the name of the liberties that India and Indian universities until recently could take for granted, we not only condemn the culture of authoritarian menace that the present government in India has generated, but urge all those genuinely concerned about the future of India and Indian universities to protest in wide mobilisation against it," said the statement of world renowned academics.