02, Jun 2015

Bengaluru, June 2, 2015, DHNS:
The ban on the activities of the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle, a students’ group at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, is alarming for the sheer intolerance that the action reflects. The group, made up of students studying at the prestigious institute, was critical of the Narendra Modi government’s policies including the proposed amendments to the land acquisition bill, the Maharashtra government’s ban on beef and the general rise in Hindutva politics. The group’s views were neither outlandish nor defamatory. On the contrary, it was a kind of criticism that is perfectly acceptable in a practising democracy like India. The intention behind much of the criticism was to trigger debate, the very reason behind the very formation of the group.