JNU Students Get Support from International Community

New Delhi, Feb 16 (IANS) Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students on Tuesday got support from over 400 academics and intellectuals from across the world who in a statement opposed the police action against the students and the arrest of students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar on sedition charges.

Titled An alibi for incursion of an authoritarian regime onto the university campus", the scholars from some of the world's renowned institutions including Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, Brown, London School of Economics and University of Toronto signed a statement supporting the students, faculty and staff of JNU "against the illegal ongoing police action", The Wire reported.

"We condemn police presence on campus and the harassment of students on the basis of their political beliefs.

"The charge of sedition, under the guise of which the police have been given a carte blanche to enter the JNU campus, to raid student hostels, arrest and detain students, including Kanhaiya Kumar is an alibi for the incursion of an authoritarian regime onto the university campus," the statement read.

"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," it added.

The petitioners urged the vice chancellor to "protect members of the university community and safeguard their rights".