Prime Minister Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Over 200 academicians including vice-chancellors of different universities, registrars, senior faculty members from universities across the country penned a letter to PM Narendra Modi against Left-wing politics on varsity campuses.

Coming close on the heels of January 5 violence on the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), the timing of the letter assumes significance.

The Delhi Police on Sunday sent notices to nine suspects in the JNU mob attack, asking them to join the investigation into the violence.

The SIT (Special Investigation Team) of the Delhi Police Crime Branch which is investigating the matter on Friday identified and released photographs of the suspected attackers, who allegedly unleashed mayhem inside the varsity on January 5. Among those named as suspects include JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh who got 16 stitches on her head in the dastardly attack.

Among suspects named by the police, seven belong to the Left-affiliated student outfits while the remaining two are from the Rashtra Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

However, JNUSU students including Ghosh and neutral eyewitnesses claim that Delhi Police did not take any action to prevent the violence and provided a safe passage to perpetrators on their way out.

Here is the full text of the letter titled 'Statement against Left-wing anarchy in educational institutions' written by academicians to PM Modi.

We a group of academicians would like to convey our concern over the prevailing atmosphere in academic institutions. 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.

This has led to the disruption of academic activities and day to day functioning of these institutions. The attempt to radicalised the students at a young age is stifling free-thinking and creativity. It is turning them more into political activists than learners exploring the new boundaries of knowledge. The puritan moral certainty in the name of ideology is leading to the cultivation of intolerance against pluralism and individual liberty. From the high seat of debate and discussion, university campuses are being turned into islands of ossified worldviews.

This has not only lead to violence between different sections of students but also intolerance against the teachers and intellectuals. It has become difficult to organise public talks or to speak independently due to the censorship imposed by left-wing politics. Strikes, dharnas and shutdowns over maximalist demands are common in left strongholds. Personal targeting, public slandering and harassment for not conforming to the left ideology is on increase.

The worst sufferer of this kind of politics are poor students and those from marginalised communities. They 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.