NEW DELHI: Top industrialists Anand Mahindra, Harsh Mariwala and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw have condemned violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday night, saying such acts cannot be tolerated and the perpetrators must be hunted down swiftly.
Speaking up against the violence, Marico Ltd Chairman Harsh Mariwala tweeted, "Coming from the land of non-violence, it's unbecoming of us to witness and encourage these acts of violence. Extremely hurt seeing last evening's news".
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Expressing similar views, in a tweet late last evening Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said, "It doesn't matter what your politics are. It doesn't matter what your ideology is. It doesn't matter what your faith is. If you're an Indian, you cannot tolerate armed, lawless goons. Those who invaded JNU tonight must be traced & hunted down swiftly & given no quarter." Likewise, reacting to a video of an injured student who claimed she was beaten up, Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw tweeted, "This is unpardonable. Violence cannot be condoned".
Violence broke out at JNU on Sunday night as a group of masked people armed with sticks attacked students and teachers and damaged property on the campus, prompting the administration to call in the police.
RPG Enterprises Chairman drew parallels between India and Australia, saying India is caught in "religious bushfires".
"Hearing me pray for Australia, for its people, for its 500 million animals that have died since the #bushfires, my little one asked why are you not praying for India where there are religious bushfires lit all over the country and students being attacked mercilessly?" Goenka wrote on his Twitter handle.
Rajan Anandan, former head of Google India, who now is associated with venture capital fund Sequoia, also retweeted Mahindra's tweet.
Many sustained injuries and were admitted to AIIMS Trauma Centre here. They were discharged on Monday. JNU Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh suffered a head injury.
The Left-controlled JNUSU and the ABVP blamed each other for the violence that continued for nearly two hours.