Student-led protests against the violence that took place at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus were supported by several institutions based in Bengaluru on Monday.
A protest march was held at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) campus on Monday night. The student council of Azim Premji University released a statement of solidarity since students in its campus are yet to return from vacation.
"The events at JNU are not unique and are one amongst a series of larger attempts to destroy bastions for critical thinking. We view the crackdown in JNU in a continuum with the complicity of state machinery to clamp down on dissenting views and ideologies across several campuses. It is very disturbing to note that violent incidents like these are becoming a pattern as the idea of India is held ransom by the hyper-nationalism of one particular group," read the statement by the Student Council.
Seeking the arrest of the perpetrators for the violence on the JNU campus, the students demanded the immediate repeal of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which has caused unrest across the country and fear of being persecuted by the BJP-led NDA government for not toeing its right wing agenda.
A protest was also held by students of Manipal University at the Coin Circle near the DC Office in Manipal condemning the violence in JNU. A candlelight vigil was held at St. Joseph's College of Commerce. "Regardless of political ideologies, we feel it is imperative to realise that in a democracy, the people have a right to dissent. Stripping this right away is against the principles of democracy and doing so through violence is a crime against humanity," a statement from the students in the institute read.
Earlier, on Sunday night, a candlelight vigil was held inside the campuses of Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru (IIM-B) and National Law School of India University (NLSIU).
Student-led protests were also held at Town Hall throughout the day on Monday by a collective of student organisations including Students' Federation of India (SFI), All India Students Federation (AISF), All India Students Association (AISA), and All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO).