Mumbai teachers rally behind students

While students in the city took to the streets to protest the attack at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), teachers and staff members of various higher education

While students in the city took to the streets to protest the attack at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), teachers and staff members of various higher education institutes such as Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) and University of Mumbai expressed their solidarity with them on Monday.

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A statement released by the teachers’ association of TISS on Monday stated, “We condemn the violent act of a group of masked goons on unarmed JNU students, teachers and staff on January 5. Over the past few months, there has been an alarming increase in violent incidents in universities such as AMU, JMIU, etc...In all cases we have seen either police brutality or police inaction and in some cases the administration was inactive to take action against these goons. The academic freedom of students and teachers needs to be restored so that academic fraternity can carry out their duties without any fear.”

More than 50 faculty members of IIT-B staged a silent protest inside the campus on Monday evening and released a statement. “We, the undersigned faculty members of IIT Bombay, strongly condemn the violent attack on students and faculty members of JNU. We see this as part of a systematic attack on all institutions in the country, including academic ones,” read the statement signed by more than 100 teachers. They also emphasised on the need to protect the intellectual autonomy of academic institutions. “We reassert the rights of intellectual engagement and freedom of expression that the Constitution of India grants us, including the right to debate, dissent and protest democratically and peacefully within academic campuses as well as outside,” read their statement.

Meanwhile, members of the Maharashtra Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisations (MFUCTO) participated in the protests at Gateway of India. “We condemn the brutal attack on innocent students in different parts of the country. Students, teachers and the youth are being harassed and there seems to be no law and order. We need to rise to this occasion in order to establish our secular and democratic rights,” said Tapati Mukhopadhyay, president of MFUCTO.

However, Shashikala Wanjari, vice chancellor of SNDT Women’s University, said what happens in other colleges should not affect them. “Why should we comment on violence in any other university? Our aim is to provide best quality education to female students and we are focusing on just that,” said Wanjari.