After masked men and women attacked students and teachers on the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, injuring at least 18 people on Sunday, 5 January, giants of the business community spoke out against the violence.
Anand Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra group, made an appeal for the swift arrest of the perpetrators on Twitter.
“It doesn't matter what your politics are. It doesn't matter what your ideology is. It doesn't matter what your faith is. If you're an Indian, you cannot tolerate armed, lawless goons. Those who invaded JNU tonight must be traced & hunted down swiftly & given no quarter...” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chief of the bio-pharmaceuticals manufacturer Biocon, retweeted a video of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) President, Aishe Ghosh, who was brutally attacked as violence erupted in the campus on 5 January. Ghosh was discharged from AIIMS on 6 January morning.
“This is unpardonable. Violence cannot be condoned,” she wrote.
In the video, Ghosh, with blood running down her face, can be heard saying, “I've been brutally attacked by goons who were masked, I have been bleeding... I am not in a condition to talk.”
An official at AIIMS Trauma Centre said that Ghosh had received lacerations or deep cuts on her forehead and is undergoing medical investigations, reported ANI.
Meanwhile, chairman of consumer goods company Marico, Harsh Mariwala, drew attention to India’s non-violent roots, “Coming from the land of non-violence, it’s unbecoming of us to witness and encourage these acts of violence. Extremely hurt seeing last evening’s news.”
Harsh Goenka, chairman of RPG group, claimed on Twitter that his son, seeing him pray for Australia, asked him why he wasn’t praying for India: “There are religious bushfires lit all over the country and students being attacked mercilessly”.
Violence broke out at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday night, after masked men and women attacked students and teachers and damaged property on the campus, prompting the administration to call in the police.
At least 30 people were injured and many were admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
The JNU administration said, "Masked miscreants armed with sticks were roaming around, damaging property and attacking people".
The Left-controlled JNUSU and the ABVP blamed each other for the violence that continued for nearly two hours.
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