Ten emeritus professors of JNU on Tuesday wrote to Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar saying they were disturbed by the curbs on freedom of speech on the campus.
The letter said the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus had always been a space where free speech was allowed and speakers from outside the university were also invited. “As emeritus professors we are disturbed by the turn of events at the campus. The university has always been a space where we allowed free discussion of issues raised by students and faculty,” the letter read.
“In the course of such discussion whether in seminars or at other informal gatherings, speakers from both within and from outside the university were invited to participate.”
They also criticised the university administration over the punishment handed out to the students who organised the controversial February 9 event on Kashmir on the campus.
“The current administration has clamped down on free discussion by imposing severe punishments of fines and rustication on those who organised (the) meeting. “This despite the fact that they were arrested and sent to jail,” the letter stated.
The letter also requested the university administration to reconsider its order banning the entry of outsiders in the campus.