External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday expressed his displeasure over the violence that erupted in Delhi’s prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday night.
“I can certainly tell you that when I studied in JNU, we did not see any ‘tukde- tukde’ gang there,” news agency PTI quoted Jaishankar as saying when asked about the matter at an event in Delhi.
“Tukde-tukde” is a term often used by right-wing parties to attack the Left-backed groups and their supporters.
“What I had to say on JNU, I said it yesterday. It was very clear,” said the External Affairs Minister when asked about attacks on JNU students on Sunday.
Immediately after the violence, Jaishankar, a JNU alumnus, had swiftly condemned the incident, saying it is completely against the tradition and culture of the university.
Jaishankar, who has an MA in Political Science and an MPhil and PhD in International Relations from JNU, tweeted: “Have seen pictures of what is happening in JNU. Condemn the violence unequivocally. This is completely against the tradition and culture of the university.”
Union Finance Minister Sitharaman, also alumni of JNU, has condemned the violence in the campus.
Unprecedented violence was witnessed in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday as several masked individuals, both male and female, thrashed students, including girls, and teachers inside the campus with wooden and metal rods, injuring many.
At least 34 people, including JNU Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh — who was reportedly hit over the eye with an iron rod — were injured as chaos reigned on the campus for nearly two hours.
Jaishankar further said the current government has a “less lethargic governance mindset” towards solving the stagnant issues of the past.
“We are a less lethargic governance mindset today than we were in the past. We are attacking problems with a great deal of purpose and determination, not saying that these are problems we are going to leave for future,” he said.
“Lot of what we are doing today are accumulations of problems we have not addressed. Look at the Citizenship issue, it started 50 years ago, Article 370 went on for 70 years and the Ayodhya issue, we tended to put it off,” the foreign minister added.
Citing the example of China, he further said: “We should look at the China story systemically. This China will impact the world more and it is important to understand the thinking of this China. It is important there is a leader-to-leader understanding of each other’s thinking.”
“The big learning out of China is that unless a society has the mindset to decisively address its current issues, it won’t go up in the world,” he said.
“They (China) prepared for the power they want to become. That is the preparation this country should start,” he added.