Editor,
It is very unfortunate that as many as 30 students and teachers were injured during a clash which broke out between members of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Students’ Union and the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on the university campus on Sunday evening. Terror was unleashed in JNU on Sunday evening when masked goons entered the campus beat up students and teachers and vandalized the campus. Female students, in a bid to save themselves from the sledgehammer and rod wielding mob, locked themselves inside hostel rooms. The rampage continued for three hours.
A public meeting was organized by the JNU Teachers’ Association on the issue of violence on campus wherein students and professors were attacked. But as the meeting was underway, some alleged attackers of about 50-odd goons wearing masks and armed with rods and hammers barged into the hostels around 6.30 pm and unleashed a reign of terror. Police had to enter the campus late in the night at the request of the JNU administration to track down the miscreants and also conducted a flag march.
It is worth noting that the first round of skirmishes and clashes happened by noon on Sunday between students- from the Left and the Right wing. However, the violence escalated and went out of control after 5 pm when ‘outsiders’ entered the campus and attacked students and faculty members inside the campus. JNU Students Union president Aishe Ghosh, who was injured in the violence, said she was attacked by ‘goons wearing masks.’ Later, Ms. Ghosh bleeding profusely was taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre.
It may be recalled that JNU students who had been agitating over the hike in hostel fees ransacked the server room and intimidated the technical staff. The University has been seeing a stand off between students and administration over the hike in hostel fees for over 70 days. Late on Sunday night, groups of JNU students protested outside the Delhi police headquarters as Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to police commissioner Amulya Patnaik to take stock of the situation.
When it is read between lines of the unpleasant incident, it can be understood that the masked goons with hammer and rods in their hands barged into the campus to deliberately attack all those who had been protesting. University students are those who are in their prime of youth and they have the natural tendency to protest against all kinds of injustice coming their way through peaceful means, which must be encouraged. To suppress peaceful protests by resorting to violence is indeed condemnable. Goons wearing masks wanted to hide themselves from being caught and on a simple analysis it can be inferred that this drama of violence in the campus is pre-planned. Enough is enough. The people of this country want to have a violence-free JNU campus where good ambience for learning must be ensured by all.
Your etc.,
TK Nandanan,
Via email
On capital punishment
Editor,
Capital punishment is meant to act as a deterrent to stop crimes like murder, kidnapping, rape, sedition from happening. It is supposed to act as a tool to scare people from committing such horrible crimes. But how far is capital punishment successful? In a survey it was held that about 371 people were awarded the death penalty in the last 13 years but only 4 people have been executed till date. Yes it is the right of these people to be given to right to file for appeal and maybe seek for forgiveness or pardon from the President of the country but the question is what should be the time limit for it?
The offenders in the Nirbhaya case were apprehended in 2012, their sentence was upheld 5 years later by the Supreme Court in 2017 but till now the execution of their sentence has not been carried out. What’s shocking is that an appeal has been filed by one of the offenders of this case execute the death sentence against him and his petition will be heard on January 24, 2020 thereby giving him more time to live. The court proceedings for the appeal will go on for a longer period of time, thus giving the offenders in this case extended period of life that they definitely don’t deserve.
Delay in carrying out death penalty or any other form of punishment defeats the purpose of justice and makes the quote, “Justice delayed is justice denied,” to be very true. Will it bring peace to the society when a person who committed a crime is given death sentence and executed after maybe 10 or 20 years? The society may feel a little happy but it still doesn’t scare people; it doesn’t put a fear inside those who nurture similar thoughts like the criminals who committed the horrible crimes. Hence a death penalty should be executed as fast as possible. This not only ensures that justice is served but also saves the tax payers’ money that is wasted every year on undeserving criminals. Let’s not make Justice an abstract but a practice.
Yours etc.,
Reakor Shisha Kharkrang
Upper Shillong,
Who’s behind the JNU violence?
Editor,
This refers to the front page report, “Masked miscreants attack students, teachers” (ST, Jan 6, 2020). There is no wonder that those who can kill Gandhi can also kill our students for peacefully protesting against fee hike. It is a shame that students are not safe even within their campuses! Is this law and order? Who was the master- mind to unleash a reign of terror within Indian campuses? Why did the police who were deployed on the campus do nothing to stop allegedly some 200 stick wielding goons to brutally injure two dozen students and teachers? The nation wants to know who remote controlled this barbaric act of terrorism and violence against the students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University. Like 30th January 1948, 5th January 2020 will be remembered as another dark day in Indian history.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata,