From Pondicherry to Oxford, protests across campuses against violence in JNU

From Pondicherry University to Oxford University in London, anger over the violence in JNU resonated in varsities across the country and even abroad as students protested against the attack on students and faculty members by an armed masked mob.

In India, protests took place at Pondicherry University, Bangalore University, University of Hyderabad, Aligarh Muslim University, University of Mumbai, Delhi University, Ambedkar University, Banaras Hindu University, Chandigarh University, National Law University in Bengaluru, Savitri Bai Phule University in Pune, TISS Mumbai, Jadavpur University, Presidency University, Kolkata and IIT Bombay.

Students staged peaceful marches to register their protest against the violence on the JNU campus with hashtag "SOSJNU" trending on social media. "Today it is them, tomorrow it can be us. Violence in any form is condemnable. We stand by our friends in JNU," Raiza, a Pondicherry University student said.

Students at Oxford university, Columbia University and University of Sussex also staged silent marches holding posters demanding safety of students on campus. In Nepal, JNU alumni gathered at Maitighar Mandala in Kathmandu to protest against the violence on campus. In Mumbai, the protest by students at the Gateway of India that started at midnight continued with more people flocking at the iconic monument to express solidarity with students.

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Maharashtra minister Jitendra Awhad of NCP joined the students at the protest and sat with them to discuss their demands. "When people begin to fear intellect, there is anarchy," the minister told reporters as students shouted slogans condemning the violence. Students of the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune also staged a demonstration outside the FTII gate, holding banners with messages like - 'FTIIstands with JNU, condemns the violence of ABVP Goons'.

A day after the violence in JNU, some students at Panjab University disrupted the address of Haryana Speaker Gian Chand Gupta. Carrying banners, the students belonging to some Left-leaning student bodies, shouted slogans against the BJP, RSS and the ABVP when the Haryana speaker was addressing during a seminar.

Students' unions of the Jadavpur University affiliated to the AISA and the SFI are slated to march towards the ABVP state office in Maniktala area of Kolkata on Monday while students of the Presidency University would also take out a procession from their campus.

Violence broke out at Jawaharlal Nehru University on Sunday night as masked men armed with sticks attacked students and teachers and damaged property on the campus, prompting the administration to call in police. Many were injured and admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.

JNU Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh suffered a head injury. All 34 students who were admitted to AIIMS trauma centre were discharged on Monday morning. The Left-controlled JNUSU and the ABVP blamed each other for the violence that continued for nearly two hours. A day after the incident, the Delhi Police registered a case against unidentified people for rioting and damage to property.

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