A group of IIT Bombay faculty members has said that some institutes of higher learning have become safe haven for activities that are not in nation’s interests and urged President Pranab Mukherjee to convey students to not become victims of the ideological warfare on campuses.
The petition of the 60 me-mbers comes in the wake of a statement issued by another group of IIT-B faculty members, which came out in support of the agitating JNU students and sa-id the state should not dictate the meaning of nationalism. In a letter to the President, the 60 members of the institute claimed that the JNU row “undermines” national interest and provides ample indication that certain groups are trying to “make use” of the young minds in premier institutions to create an environment of “abuse and acrimony” instead of “peace and harmony”.
“Besides JNU, we note that certain other institutes of higher learning are also treated as safe haven for activities that are not in national interests. Some of the brilliant young minds, instead of engaging themselves in activities that would provide a healthy atmosphere for the educational institutions, involve themselves under the pretext of freedom of expression in activities that vitiate the academic atmosphere,” said the letter to the President.
