Massive protests engulfed various parts of the country after a masked mob entered the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and brutally attacked students and professors on Sunday, 5 January.
The Quint spoke to former JNU student and activist Umar Khalid who addressed an electrifying gathering of protesters at Gateway of India, Mumbai as protests continued overnight.
Khalid asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the university campus and assess for himself the state of affairs.
“PM Modi goes to America and says ‘Sab changa si. Everything is fine.’ Will he come and visit JNU and see for himself?" said Khalid.
He also added that the motive behind the attack was to stop the students from protesting against the fee hike that has been building for three months in JNU.
“The students have been peacefully protesting but what we got in return is police brutality. Earlier, we saw how even visually challenged students were beaten up by the police,” said Khalid.
“Today, despite all these brutalities, the movement at JNU still goes on and the Vice Chancellor doesn’t know how to break that movement. This is a new low they’ve stooped down to. They hired goons from outside, some of them from ABVP in JNU and others from JNU and Bajrang Dal from outside the university to attack students.”Umar Khalid, Activist and Former JNU student
“They think this will break the movement against fee hike, this is their intention,” he added.
Youngsters, mostly students from different city colleges, assembled on the pavement across Hotel Taj near the Gateway of India to condemn the violence. At least 28 people, including JNU Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh, were injured as chaos reigned on the campus for nearly two hours.
Eyewitnesses alleged the attackers entered the premises when a meeting was being held by JNU Teachers' Association on the issue of violence on campus, and assaulted students and professors.
They also barged into three hostels. Video footage aired by some TV channels showed a group of men, who were brandishing hockey sticks and rods, moving around a building.
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