Harsh Mander, civil society activist and writer, endorsed the view of students protesting against University of Hyderabad Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao Podile, calling for action against him.
Mr. Mander was at the university at the behest of the Mass Communication Department when JAC and its affiliates sought his presence at the Northern Campus shopping complex. During his address, he termed civil disobedience important in opposing allegations of anti-nationalism and charges of sedition levelled against students like Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khaild of JNU.
“I wrote to the Home Minister stating that my writings contained questions similar to those raised by dissenting JNU students for which charges of sedition were levelled against them. I said I should also be charged with sedition and punished for it,” he rhetorically told the gathering.
Mr. Mander said resistance that began at the complex square has provided a spark for the country. Earlier, during his talk before Mass Communication students, Mr. Mander commended the role of media in covering issues of poor, the deprived and marginal. Representatives of the JAC and other groups condemned the alleged attack on students of Palamuru University in Mahbubnagar and burnt an effigy of right-wing groups.
