New Delhi: A huge number of academicians in India are fed up with the left wing activists who are wrecking havoc in the academic environment. This has led to 208 academicians to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighting the threat of these left wingers to the academic space in the country. They have also complained about how the left wing use intimidation to toe their line.
The letter “Statement against left-wing anarchy in educational institutions” has been signed by more than 200 academicians and Vice Chancellors of many universities.
In the letter they said, 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.”
In the letter the academicians highlight how freedom of speech is trampled by left groups and that it has become difficult to organize public talks that is against left. They said that strikes dharnas and shutdowns over maximalist demands are common in left dominated spaces.
The left also uses public slandering, harassment and personal targeting against those who do not toe the line of left ideology. The poor students and those from marginalized communities suffered due to the left tactics.
The letter 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.”
