India speaks on US campus protests: 'There has to be a right balance...'

THE Indian government has emphasized the importance of striking a proper equilibrium between freedom of expression and accountability when it comes to the ongoing pro-Palestine demonstrations at leading American universities.

The protests, advocating for divestment from entities linked to Israel, have prompted several institutes to shift to virtual learning environments and sparked clashes between students and law enforcement.

When questioned about the developments, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of India's ministry of external affairs, said they maintain regular communication with Indian students enrolled in US universities.

Read: Indian-born student in Princeton arrested for taking part in anti-Israel protests

"We have seen reports on the matter and have been following related events. In every democracy, there has to be the right balance between freedom of expression, a sense of responsibility and public safety and order. Democracies in particular should display this understanding in regard to other fellow democracies. After all, we are all judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad," he said.

The spokesperson also said that the authorities will engage themselves proactively if there are issues linked to Indian students that need to be resolved.

While Indian prime minister Narendra Modi expressed support for Israel soon after Palestinian militant organisation Hamas launched an attack on it last October, leading to a deadly conflict, New Delhi subsequently reiterated its support for a two-nation solution to the Israel-Palestine issue, which includes the establishment of a sovereign state of Palestine coexisting peacefully with Israel.

Modi also spoke with Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority later and reiterated India’s long-standing and principled position on the Israel-Palestine issue.

Meanwhile, the White House said this week that president Joe Biden was in favour of free speech and debate on college campuses.

The pro-Palestine protests denouncing the rising deaths in Gaza began at Columbia University last week and soon spread to more campuses across the US, the strongest ally of Israel.

More than a hundred students have been arrested for campus occupation, which Jewish students have accused to be antisemitic.

An Indian-born student at Princeton University, Achinthya Sivalingan, was among the arrested and barred from the campus and facing disciplinary action for joining anti-Israel protests.

The protesting students have demanded a ceasefire to the war, an end to Washington's military support to Israel, and halting university investments from arms suppliers and companies benefiting the war.

At Columbia University, more than 100 students were detained following the dispersal of a pro-Palestine demonstration by law-enforcement last week.

Escalating tensions prompted the university to cancel in-person classes on Monday (22), transitioning to virtual instruction.

US house speaker Mike Johnson, during his visit to the Columbia campus on Wednesday (24), encountered jeers that he condemned as "mob rule" and "the spread of antisemitism".

At the University of Texas in Austin, law-enforcement officers in riot gear were deployed to confront students who staged a walkout while chanting "down with occupation".

Over 20 demonstrators were arrested during the Wednesday protests.

Additionally, 50 protesters were detained at the University of California in Los Angeles, with another 130 arrests reported at New York University.

Demonstrations have erupted at Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UC Berkeley, the University of Michigan, and Brown.

At Harvard and other prestigious universities, students have begun establishing tents on campus as part of an encampment initiative to protest the casualties in Gaza.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had slammed the protests at US colleges as "horrific" and said "antisemitic mobs have taken over leading universities".

(With PTI inputs)