IIM-Bangalore students flay violent attack on JNU students

A sizeable number of students from the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) on Wednesday condemned the violent attacks on the faculty and students of Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on January 5 by issuing a statement in solidarity.

"Attack on JNU faculty and students is an attack on the foundation of India. We condemn it in the strongest possible sense and stand in solidarity with JNU," said a statement signed by 268 students and a few IIM-B faculty members in their personal capacity.

The students said that India has always valued discussion and thrived on debate for the millennia, making its subjects an open and tolerant society.

"Our republic was founded on recognising the fundamental dignity of a human being and a grand unity that transcends all differences," said the management students.

IIM-B students also highlighted that institutions of learning are sacred spaces meant to foster diverse perspectives to encourage independent thinking in a peaceful way.

"The systematic way in which universities have been targeted to silence ideological dissent in not acceptable under any terms," said the students and faculty members.

Proactive faculty members solicit interested students in the premier management school to sign up for statements, protests and other vocal demonstrations on any particular issue playing out in the country.

A statement from the students and select faculty is not always the official position of IIM-B, as many students remain neutral or some take the opposite stand.

"We, the members of IIM-Bangalore, in our independent capacity, strongly and unreservedly condemn the attack on JNU campus," said the statement.

Several students and faculty members have already spoken out and demonstrated against the violence in Jamia Millia Islamia and against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the recent past.

The students also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pleading him not to trample the democratic rights of citizens to peacefully protest.IANS