Teachers oppose police action...

New Delhi: The teachers association of JNU on Saturday strongly protested against the action carried out by the police against students. Claiming that they have always upheld the Constitution of India and values enshrined therein and have always opposed any unconstitutional activity on the campus or outside, the JNUTA said that the recent police action was uncalled for and had put the university's democratic ethos under threat.
In a press statement released by Professor Nivedita Menon on behalf of JNUTA, the teachers' group said, "JNU has always been a university with a vibrant democratic culture, where diverse political, ideological and academic views have engaged with each other in a spirit of peaceful dialogue and debate."
It maintained that since the university had already instituted an enquiry to ascertain the facts about Tuesday's event in which anti-India sentiments were reportedly expressed, the JNUTA strongly believed that the "current excessive police action is totally uncalled for". "In view of this, JNUTA expresses its deep anguish at the University administration's decision to give a carte blanche to the police to enter the campus to search different premises and even make random arrests."
Responding to the arrest of the students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar on charges of sedition, the teachers said that the university's teaching community was concerned at the threat to the democratic ethos that had played a critical role in ensuring that JNU served its social functions and secured its position as one of the premier institutions of higher education.
Reiterating that the teachers of the university condemned the massive police presence and the attempt to escalate tensions, the statement further said, "This sentiment makes us express our strong opposition to attempts to use the law and the police to suppress democratic dissent and conduct a witch-hunt on our campus. The fact that the JNUSU president is the first to be arrested establishes it."
The JNUTA stressed it stood with the entire JNU community in demanding normalcy on the campus through the withdrawal of the police and the release of the students.