“Freedom of Speech Threatened”, Harvard Students Join JNU Protest

Students and teachers in Harvard University have come together in support of the JNU protesters.

The JNU row has inflamed not just Indian students but also students from abroad. Scholars on the other side of the globe have come together in support of Kanhaiya Kumar.

In what is being deemed as the biggest nation-wide protest in over two decades, JNU student body head Kanhaiya Kumar’s detention under colonial-era laws, once used by the British to jail nationalist icons such as Mahatma Gandhi, has also aggrieved students at Harvard University.

Students and affiliates gathered in Harvard Square on Thursday to lodge their protest.

Kumar’s detention over alleged anti-national comments and the violence surrounding it has exposed deep ideological differences about freedom of speech in India.

Many have faulted the Indian government for exploiting the sedition law to silence its opponents when it should have left college authorities to manage the issue.

“We gathered basically because all of us believe that freedom of speech and dialogue is essential and should be respected. And that was being threatened by the present government,” said Harvard University student, Shravya Mallavarapu.

Also read: Students from Universities Across the World Stand With JNU