Condemning the attack on the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, Alia Bhatt took to Instagram to post a strong message. Asking people to ‘stop pretending that all is fine,’ Alia wrote:
“When students, teachers and peaceful civilians become victims of physical assault on an ongoing basis, it’s time to stop pretending that all is fine. We must look truth in the eye and acknowledge that we are a house at war with itself. We, the people of this country no matter how different our ideologies, must find a human solution to all of our complex problems, and reinforce the peaceful and inclusive ideals upon which this country was built.”
In another Instagram story, she wrote, “Any ideology that seeks to divide, oppress and promote violence is one we must strongly oppose.”
Several Bollywood celebrities including Swara Bhasker, Shabana Azmi, Sonam Kapoor, Dia Mirza, Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, Taapsee Pannu, along with filmmakers Aparna Sen and Hansal Mehta have condemned the violence and urged Delhi Police to intervene.
Swara, whose mother Ira Bhaskar is a professor at the JNU, took to Twitter to appeal to the people on social media to reach the campus “to pressure the government and Delhi Police” to control the violence.
At least 18 people were injured and admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). JNU students' union president Aishe Ghosh suffered a head injury.
Sonam Kapoor took to Twitter to call the attack disgusting and cowardly.
Taapsee said it was saddening to see an educational institution "getting scarred forever".
The Left-controlled JNUSU and the RSS-affiliated ABVP blamed each other for the violence that continued for nearly two hours. Several disturbing videos that show masked people carrying sticks and bats have gone viral on social media.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)