BENGALURU: Along with many others who gathered at the Town Hall to protest against the attack on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students, multi-lingual actor and theatre practitioner Arundhati Nag also spoke out during the protest.
“I have come here to show solidarity and convey that the government cannot hijack the democracy of India, especially educational institutions,” she said. Following this, she said the JNU incident was a “big alarm bell and we have to rise.” Former JNU professor Mohan Raj was also present. The protest which began at 10 am continued till 6 pm. Towards the end post 4 pm onwards, the numbers doubled into hundreds.
Several students joined the protest after their classes, including those from National Law School, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, and Indian Institute of Science. Activists and other supporters from various sects also joined in. A former JNU student who took part in the protest said, “Protests are an integral part of JNU as we stand up against such issues.
But barging into hostels and beating up students is a first and it is premeditated. Now we are deemed as anti-nationals for protesting,” said Arunima Bhattacharya, a 2014 graduate. The students also raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Delhi Police for not responding to the incident.
“The police have been
stationed outside the gates and they enter the campus whenever there is a small protest. This time when goons entered, they didn’t do anything. We know ABVP goons are behind this, said Anirudh B of IIMB.