Left-Wing violence in campuses: Over 200 academicians write to PM Modi

More than 200 academicians, including Vice-Chancellors (VCs) of universities, have written Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging a small group of left-wing activists for deteriorating the educational environment in India.

In the letter, the academicians have written: "We observe with dismay that in the name of student politics a disruptive far-left agenda is being pursued. The recent turn of events on campuses from JNU to Jamia, from AMU to Jadavpur alarms us to the deteriorating academic environment due to the shenanigans of a small coterie of left-wing activists."

The letter has been titled statement against left-wing anarchy in educational institutions.

The signatories to the statement include Hari Singh Gour University VC R P Tiwari, Central University of South Bihar VC HCS Rathore and Sardar Patel University VC Shirish Kulkarni, among others, according to official sources

The statement by 208 academicians is being seen as part of the ruling dispensation's efforts to mobilize support in the academia after it faced flak from a section of the intelligentsia over protests in certain universities over a host of issues, including the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the recent violence on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus

Taking on Left-leaning groups, the statement said it had become difficult to organize public talks or speak independently due to the "censorship imposed by the left-wing politics"

Strikes, dharnas, and shutdowns over maximalist demands were common in Left strongholds and personal targeting, public slandering and harassment for not conforming to the Left ideology were on the rise, the academicians wrote to Modi

The worst sufferer of this kind of politics were poor students and those from marginalized communities, the statement said.?

"They (these students) lose out on the opportunity to learn and build a better future for themselves. They also lose out on the freedom to articulate their own views and alternative politics. They find themselves constrained to conform to the majoritarian left politics. We appeal to all democratic forces to come together and stand for academic freedom, freedom of speech and plurality of thoughts," it added.

(With PTI Inputs)

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