SRINAGAR: The Jammu & Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) has strongly condemned advisories issued by the University of Delhi (DU) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), warning students against participating in ongoing peaceful protests at Jantar Mantar. The associations described these advisories as regressive, arbitrary, and incompatible with the constitutional values that universities are meant to uphold.
In a statement issued here, JKSA’s National Convenor, Nasir Khuehami, said the advisories have created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, discouraging students from exercising their democratic rights. Instead of engaging with students and facilitating dialogue, university administrations are threatening disciplinary, legal, and academic action against students. Khuehami argued that such measures undermine students’ confidence in public institutions and weaken the democratic culture universities are supposed to foster.
“Universities are spaces for critical inquiry, debate, and democratic engagement, historically serving as centers of social change and progressive thought. Attempts to silence students through intimidation contradict the purpose of higher education and threaten academic autonomy,” he said.
Khuehami pointed out that students protesting peacefully at Jantar Mantar are exercising their constitutional right to raise issues affecting their future. Peaceful protest is a legitimate means of expressing dissent, and universities should support, not suppress, such democratic participation. He reminded that Article 19 of the Indian Constitution guarantees the right to free speech and assembly, and institutions must protect these freedoms.
The JKSA criticized the advisories for setting a dangerous precedent that normalizes discouraging peaceful protests, risking the loss of campuses as spaces for free debate and dissent. The association urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene, withdraw the advisories, and ensure students face no disciplinary action for lawful protests. It reaffirmed its solidarity with students and called on universities to uphold academic freedom and democratic values.