JNU is not an independent country, say teachers opposed to JNUTA

New Delhi: The ongoing tussle over the raising of anti-national slogans in Jawaharlal Nehru University has divided the teaching staff of the prestigious varsity.

While Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers' Association (JNUTA) president Ajay Patnaik termed the arrest of JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar as 'return of emergency', a splinter group of JNUTA has now come out justifying police action against erring students.

The splinter group claims that their stand has been endorsed by 600 of the 650 teachers and most members of the1500-strong administrative staff.

Addressing the press after they met Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar to express their support, the teachers said that a handful of students are ruining the future of thousands of students, many of whom are are from poor families.

“We are also teachers of the university and we have not boycotted the class...today morning we were forced by some students to not take class (sic),” said one professor.

Hitting out JNUTA , he added, “We belong to JNU, few people have taken the decision (to oppose police action).”

Another senior member of the teaching staff said that anyone with an alternate view – other than the dominant ideology prevalent in the university - is being branded as a member of ABVP, BJP.

“The moment you don't belong to a particular ideological stream, you are identified and prosecuted,” he said.

His colleague endorsed the observation. “Anti-national slogans have been raised in JNU in the past as well but it is for the first time action has been taken against such people,” he said.

“JNU is not an independent country, its a university owned by the government of India. If national security is threatened then the police has to come in,” he added.