St Stephen's Students Boycott Classes In "Very, Very Rare" Move, For JNU

By Dilip -
NB: Congratulations to SSC students for this display of solidarity. The college has an old tradition of participation in the outstanding political movements of the day. Susil Kumar Rudra, first Indian Principal (1906-1923) was a close friend and admirer of Mahatma Gandhi, as was Charles Freer Andrews, who joined the faculty in 1904. Gandhi used to stay with Rudra in the principal's house whenever he visited Delhi; this despite the English authorities' express disapproval. Gandhi said that his open letter to the Viceroy during the Khilafat agitation "was conceived and drafted under Principal Rudra's roof" 

More on St Stephens College and the Indian national movement may be read in Susan Vishvanathan; Friendship, Interiority and Mysticism: Essays in Dialogue, 2007; Chapter 6, Rudra, Andrews and Gandhi; and in Daniel O’Connor; A Clear Star: C. F. Andrews and India 1904-1914; 2005. The first author is an alumnus of JNU; and the second was Pastor in SSC in the 1960's and 70's; and friend to many of us in our time at SSC. He lives in retirement in Balmullo, Scotland. 

Meanwhile this essay, Rebellion to Reconciliation, appeared in B.G. Verghese (ed); 
Tomorrow’s India: Another Tryst with Destiny, SSC's commemoration volume in 2006. St Stephen's is my alma mater and I have never before placed this memoir on my blog. DS

Students of St Stephen's in Delhi boycotted classes and protested on the lawns today - in a gesture described as "very rare" for the college - to express solidarity with Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students and teachers attacked by a masked mob on Sunday. The students gathered on the sprawling lawns of St Stephen's and read the preamble to the Constitution.

On the Twitter feed of a large alumni group of the prestigious college at Delhi University's North Campus, an eight-second video appeared that shows at least 100 students standing outside the college building, holding placards and shouting slogans in the biting cold. "At St Stephen's today. Students boycott classes (very, very rare) to read the Preamble to the Constitution and to support and say #WeStandWithJNU. And #NoCAANoNRC," the alumni group, Stephanians, tweeted.
JNU Students, Teachers Attacked By Masked Men
Prof Purushottam Agrawal addressing Shaheen Bagh Protest against CAA, NRC
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CITIZENS OF INDIA by 106 senior retired government officers: INDIA DOES NOT NEED THE CAA-NPR-NRIC

 "We are here for rights, not riots," reads a placard held by a student. Another reads, "The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis." In the video, the students gathered on the lawns are heard shouting, "Kal bhi tum haare the, aaj bhi tum haaroge, kal bhi hum jitenge (You lost yesterday, you will lose today also. We will win again tomorrow)." The students were also heard shouting: "Is baar nahin hum chhodenge, itihas ki dhara modenge (we will not let go this time, we will change the direction of history)."

The group then marched a few hundred metres to the Faculty of Arts area on campus, a short distance from the college. Students of other nearby colleges on North Campus like Miranda House boycotted classes on a call given by St Stephen's students, news agency IANS reported. "Students from various colleges and alumni have gathered here in solidarity with whatever that is happening to students in different universities... The incident at JNU is what sparked this big strike," said a student from Delhi University, Faculty of Arts.

A massive masked mob attack at JNU on Sunday evening left over 30 injured, including five teachers. In mobile videos, the masked men are seen hitting students with sticks and sledgehammers and ransacking hostel rooms. The JNU Students' Union has accused the BJP-linked students' group ABVP for the mob attack. The ABVP claims students allied with the "Left" were responsible for the mayhem. The Delhi Police have said they are investigating the allegations from both groups.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/st-stephens-students-boycott-classes-in-very-very-rare-move-for-jnu-2160714?pfrom=home-topstories

see also
The real tukde-tukde gang
Jab Hindu Muslim raazi / to kya karega Nazi
The split wide open: India is at risk of alienating allies by citizenship programme
‘Am glad I went’: Ramachandra Guha explains why he joined CAA protests
Over 1000 Scientists, Academics Demand Withdrawal of Citizenship Bill // Citizenship Amendment Bill is a bid to fashion an ethnic democracy
Bengal Imam who lost son to communal clashes calls for peace // Students Across India Rise Up To Protest Citizenship Act And Police Brutality
Ayush Chaturvedi: Main Gandhi ke saath hun // Samar Halarnkar: In the time of Godse, a search for Hindus who will stand with Gandhi
Naxalites should lay down their arms and challenge the ruling class to abide by the Constitution
Decline, Debasement and Devastation in the All India Services. By P. S. Appu (IAS, Retd)
Dilip Simeon: Closing the Circle: On Revolution (Frontier, 2012)
Remembering Rabindra

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