India Insights: University Protests in India
Associated Press
In the past 3-4 weeks, protests on American college and university campuses over Israel’s conduct in the War in Gaza escalated. On April 17, 2024, protestors set up an encampment at Columbia University, the same day the university’s president, Minouche Shafik, was questioned at Congress on the rise of antisemitism in Columbia. Since then, protests have spread to other American universities and colleges, including The George Washington University, Virginia Tech, UCLA, USC, Yale, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and many others. Additionally, protests have spread to universities outside of the U.S. such as Sciences Po and Sorbonne University in France, Oxford and Cambridge in the UK, the University of Amsterdam, and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in India. In general, the students demand that their universities should divest from Israel.
Olivier Chassignole/AFP. University protests in Sciences Po. The poster says: Soldarity with Palestine
Amid these protests, various countries have issued reactions. The Iranian foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, tweeted that the suppression of these protests shows the hypocrisy of American rhetoric on democracy. A media outlet affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accused the U.S. of hypocrisy when it comes to protests and human rights. The reactions of Tehran and Beijing are quite hypocritical, considering that these governments brutally suppress student protests in their countries, with the most recent one being the brutal crackdown on the Mahsa Amini protests.
Iranian, Chinese, and Russian criticism of U.S. internal affairs is nothing new in geopolitical battles. However, the most notable reaction was from India. During the weekly press briefing, the spokesperson for the Indian External Affairs Ministry, Randhir Jaiswal said:
“We have seen reports on the matter and have been following related events. In every democracy, there has to be the right balance between freedom of expression, sense of responsibility and public safety and order. Democracies in particular should display this understanding in regard to other fellow democracies. After all, we are all judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad.”
The reaction from India was quite new since New Delhi generally refrained from commenting on internal movements or protests in the U.S. such as the George Floyd protests or the women’s reproductive rights protests. While it is beneficial for the Indian government to send a subtle message to Washington that American criticisms of “human rights abuses” in India are hypocritical, the Indian view of these protests is much more complex and, if anything, only adds to the narrative held by some in India that the “Islamo-leftist” alliance that has dominated universities.
The beginnings of student protests in India started around the 19th century, with the formation of the Academic Association in Bengal’s Hindu College, led by Henry Louis Vivian Derozio. His students/disciplines then played a critical role in the Bengal Renaissance. Later, in 1905, a group of students at Eden College in Kolkata protested the partition of Bengal and burned the effigy of viceroy Lord Curzon. Since then, many student movements have occurred throughout India’s freedom movement. After independence, a notable student protest was in 1965, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. These protests occurred out of opposition to the 1963 Official Languages Act, making Hindi and English the official languages. During these protests, about 70 students self-immolated and ended when Lal Bahadur Shashti reiterated Nehru’s promise that English would also be the official language.
While tensions between these student movements and the central government existed, they have exacerbated since Modi became prime minister, with JNU being the epicenter of this tension.
In 2020, the Indian government passed the Citizenship Amendment Act, which provides expedited Indian citizenship for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, etc. for refugees from neighboring countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh. In response, protests in JNU University. However, on January 6, masked men came into the university and began attacking the students. It is unclear who was behind the protests, but the students allege that Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a student group linked to the BJP, was behind the attack. In response to this assault, many other universities launched their protests in solidarity and a nationwide general strike occurred on January 8, 2020.
Et Online
The protests at JNU gained further national (and international) attention when Indian film actress Deepika Padukone visited JNU. Before this visit, Deepika said, “It pains me because I hope this doesn't become the new normal. It's scary and sad. This is not what our country's foundation was.” Deepika’s visit was also significant as it differentiated her from other stars, who generally refrain from commenting on political issues and are often accused of aiding the BJP. In support of Deepika, Kanhaiya Kumar - the former president of JNU’s students union - tweeted:
On the other hand, many BJP supporters called Deepika “anti-national” and called for boycotting her next film. Similarly, Indu Tiwari, a BJP legislator from Jabalpur, accused Deepika’s presence of being promotion for her new film Chhapaak (2020).
These criticisms of the student protests reflect the broader narrative that right-wing groups propagate by portraying Indian universities as “Marxist” and “anti-Indian.” A magazine associated with the RSS, called Panchajanya, labeled JNU as a “huge anti-national block which has the aim of disintegrating India.” Additionally, it said that the university celebrates Naxalites and accused the 2010 protestors of celebrating the killing of Indian security personnel by the Naxalites. The article also said that the university’s tendency to use state resources is because of:
“bitterness for Hindus and an urge to break India. These things became possible due to two historical reasons. The first was the desire of Nehru and his successors to impose state-run model of economy on India and two, Nehru's proximity to the Soviet Block. But when the Soviet Block disintegrated, a new political thought emerged in institutions like JNU which started changing their political slogan from class struggle to caste struggle.”
However, one of the more divisive narratives is alleging that the “Islamo-leftist alliance” has taken over universities. The idea of an “Islamo-Marxist” alliance, or “Islamo-gauchisme” as it is originally known in French, was coined by French philosopher Pierre André Taguieff, who, in his book The New Judeophobia, alleged that there is an “alliance” between the left and Islamists over their shared apathy of the West and capitalism. It also alleges how many leftists were sympathetic to the 1979 Iranian Revolution and how the revolution itself involved an “alliance” between the left and Islamists since they both wanted the Shah gone.
In France, the “battle” against “Islamo-leftism” reached a turning point in 2021, when the former French Education Minister Frederique Vidal said, “I think that Islamo-leftism is eating away at our society as a whole, and universities are not immune and are part of our society.” Vidal later announced that the French government would investigate researchers wanting to “fracture and divide.” However, critics see this initiative as a “witch-hunt” to limit academic freedom.
A similar concept, known as the “regressive left,” was coined by Majjid Nawaz, who accused the left of embracing illiberal practices for the sake of upholding “multiculturalism.”
The notion of “Islamo-leftism” dominating universities has been propagated by many actors in India. An article written in OpIndia, a ring-wing media outlet known for spreading disinformation, said that the French had “woken up” to the threat posed by “Islamo-Marxists” and argued that India should follow suit. The article later accused acclaimed novelist Arundhati Roy of “whitewashing” crimes committed by Islamists in Kashmir while solely criticizing the “atrocities” done by the Indian military. An article on Kesari Weekly, a Malayalam outlet also associated with the RSS, had an article called “Islamo-Leftism Establishes in Kerala Universities.” This article alleged that in 2010, the University of Kerala Organized invited Islamic scholar Yusuf Al-Quradawi for an event, along with Marxist Chief Minister V S Achyuthanandan. Quradawi was seen by many to be an extremist due to his affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Additionally, Avatans Kumar, an Indian columnist, tweeted:
As it relates to the ongoing pro-Palestine college protests, an article by Indian media outlet Firstpost said that “Islamo-leftists” dominate American universities and insisted that today, Jews are being targeted in American universities. However, one day, Hindus will be targeted by saying:
“it’s the same anti-Semitic force, currently in action on US campuses and elsewhere, that also targets Hindus in America by joining hands with the progressive, Left-wing, feminist, and ethnic minority groups, as well as Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ activists. In the name of Palestine, they seek the decimation of Israel and Jews. And in the name of Hindutva, they work for the dismantling of India and Hinduism.”
The narrative of Hindus being “targeted” has to do with the fact that many American universities had protests criticizing India on Kashmir, with some advocating for “Azad Kashmir” or “free Kashmir.” Amid this worry, the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin insisted that “free-Kashmir” protests should not be present at Rutgers University, and as the chairperson of this group, Thomas Abraham, said
“By even considering this demand, you are questioning the integrity of India. Kashmir is very much a part of India. There is no separate flag for Kashmir. Kashmir residents are not displaced people. In fact, the displaced people are the Hindu minorities who had to leave Kashmir because of violence against them. If Rutgers displays such a flag of Kashmir, that will be the beginning of more sit-ins by students who are opposed to such flags.”
Pro-Palestine protests are now occurring on college campuses all over the world, and both alarmed and supportive politicians inevitably follow in their wake.
