Expressing full support to the students protesting for the release of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar arrested in ‘sedition and criminal conspiracy’ for holding an event to commemorate the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru on February 9, the JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) said on Monday they would join the students’ strike on Tuesday while they alleged “sexual harassment” inside the Patiala House courts and also said they “fear” for students’ leader life.
Senior professor at JNU Ayesha Kidwai said the way mob, who claimed to be lawyers attacked them inside the courtroom, was enough indication that Kanhaiya’s life is in “danger”.
“Our greatest concern is of Kanhaiya’s life because of what happened on Monday. They were planning to lynch Kanhaiya. We fear for his life. The JNU Teachers’ Association in an emergent meeting decided to join the students’ strike from Tuesday,” said Kidwai.
Calling the attack a reign of terror, Kidwai explained that the mob “got hold of seven faculty members, including five female professors’ Janaki Nair, Suzzane, Nivedita Menon and herself and started pushing them. We were in the courtroom for half an hour...there was no trouble and suddenly a bunch of people started shouting you are deshdrohis (anti-nationals). They got hold of male professor, including Rohith Azad and Himanshu, who were beaten and surrounded by lawyers because apparently the Constitution doesn’t apply to Patiala court,” she said.
Teachers said they refused to move as they felt the mob had no right to evict them unless the judge orders. “We refused to move until the judge told us. We will also not be ready to leave without a police escort who were watching like mute spectators. Many of us were never sexually harassed before. At every exit there was a bunch of goons pulling us,” Kidwai added.
Narrating the ordeal of teachers who had gone to hear the court proceedings, Nivedita Menon, faculty School of International Sciences, said, “The teachers present there are the middle-aged females who were called anti-nationals. We were manhandled and touched inappropriately by the mob inside the court. What is about the JNU that threatens themIJ Is it the unity of teachers and students or the heterogeneous culture of the universityIJ” asked Menon.
Also, JNU administration condemned the attack on the teachers. “We condemn the attack on the teachers. let the law take its course. Any sort of violent activity against anybody is condemnable,” JNU Registrar Bhupinder Zutshi said.