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Editor’s Note

JNU violence: Time to demand

arrest of masked goons

WHEN VIDEOS of masked men and bloodied victims instead of arresting the goons would only precipitate
surfaced on social media, it triggered a blame game. It is the mad frenzy. Can we absolve the Vice Chancellor of
shocking that hundreds of police personnel were stand- his failure to check vandalism at JNU campus?
ing outside the JNU campus when inside it was being The judgment delivered on January 10, 2020 by the
vandalized. three-judge bench of Justice NV Ramanna, Justice R
Horror and anger spilled onto the campus when Subhash Reddy and Justice BR Gavai of the Supreme
masked mob unleashed violence on students and Court challenging restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir
teachers alike forcing especially women to lock them- is relevant here. Justice NV Ramanna, who read out
selves in rooms to escape mob frenzy. In videos and the judgment, quoted from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of
pictures, the mob can be seen carrying hammers, rods, Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst
lathis and stones. of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of
Such was the situation that streetlights on the foolishness.”
entire stretch outside the university campus were off The Judge said, “Suspension of free movement,
for more than three hours when the mob continued Internet and basic freedoms cannot be an arbitrary
to heckle students, and other staff of the University. It exercise of power. The court criticized the repeated use
is not the time to sit quietly but to demand identifica- of Section 144, a colonial-era rule to ban large gather-
tion, unmasking of masked perpetrators, and arrest ings. The JNU Administration and Delhi Police have
of all those responsible for mayhem before schism of much to answer. The office of Deputy Commissioner of
trust deficit widens further. Police is right across the JNU campus and yet it failed to
Ironically, the JNU Students’ Union president Aishe act in time when law and order situation had touched
Ghosh has been booked for arson, though the blood- its nadir at the campus.
soaked face with broken head told an altogether differ- The Union Home Ministry too is answerable as it
ent story and became a new face of JNU. overseas policing in the national capital. Two mem-
A free and fair inquiry can dispel doubts over in- bers of the Union Cabinet, both JNU alumni have con-
volvement of people and outfits with vested interests. demned the incident but mere condemnation would
JNU is country’s best Social Sciences University and the not suffice. It would ring hollow till masked vandals are
attack obviously tries to dent an institution of such a unmasked, their affiliation and lineage made public and
lofty stature. It is an established fact that the JNU stu- they are arrested after a fast and fair probe.
dents have always been responsible rebels but blaming
them for violence and lodging five FIRs against them, CHARANJIT AHUJA

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VOLUME 17, ISSUE NO. 3, 16-31 JANUARY 2020, RELEASED ON 16 JANUARY 2020, NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER 68
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