From Vietnam to Palestine, American campuses have been society’s moral compass
Most Indian institutes have been indifferent to the question of Palestine but it is not too late for them to prove their commitment to justice and equality.
Students in more than 100 universities in the US are protesting against their government and the administrations of their institutions. They are protesting against the support being given by their government to Israel, which has been emboldened to wage a genocide of the Palestinian people.
The US students are demanding that their universities break ties with institutions in Israel and divest from the country. They are aiming to create pressure that they believe will end the violence against Palestine.
The administrations of their institutions and their government have responded with ferocity. Rubber bullets, tear gas and batons have been used on students protesting peacefully. Many have been arrested. Many have also been given expulsion notices by their universities. Teachers supporting them have also been beaten, arrested and punished in other ways.
Watching all this on her phone, my daughter said that it reminded of what happened in her own country, India. The response of the police in the US is similar to how our own police acted against students in Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University protesting against the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act in 2020.
It is not just the police in India who have attacked students. Students opposed to government policies have also faced assaults from...
