208 academicians write to PM blaming "Left wing" for deteriorating academic environment
"We observe with dismay that in the name of student politics, a disruptive far-left agenda is being pursued," the academicians wrote in the letter.
More than 208 academicians have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing concern over deteriorating academic atmosphere in the country owing to "Left-wing activists". The signatories include vice-chancellors of universities like Central University of South Bihar, Hari Singh Gour University, Sardar Patel University to name a few. The academicians have sought to blame "small coterie of Left-wing activists" for worsening academic environment in the country.
"We observe with dismay that in the name of student politics, a disruptive far-left agenda is being pursued. The recent turn of events in campuses from JNU to Jamia, from AMU to Jadavpur alarms us to the deteriorating academic environment due to the shenanigans of a small coterie of left-wing activists," they wrote to the prime minister.
The letter is titled "statement against left-wing anarchy in educational institutions".
The statement by 208 academicians is being seen as part of the ruling dispensation's efforts to mobilise support in the academia after it faced flak from a section of the intelligentsia over protests in certain universities over a host of issues, including the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the recent violence on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus.
Taking on Left-leaning groups, the statement said it had become difficult to organise public talks or speak independently due to the "censorship imposed by the left-wing politics".
Strikes, dharnas and shutdowns over maximalist demands were common in Left strongholds and personal targeting, public slandering and harassment for not conforming to the Left ideology were on the rise, the academicians wrote to Modi.
The worst sufferer of this kind of politics were poor students and those from marginalised communities, the statement said.
"They (these students) lose out on the opportunity to learn and build a better future for themselves. They also lose out on the freedom to articulate their own views and alternative politics. They find themselves constrained to conform to the majoritarian left politics. We appeal to all democratic forces to come together and stand for academic freedom, freedom of speech and plurality of thoughts," it added.
(With PTI inputs)
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