Protests over student arrest paralyse India university

Jawaharlal Nehru University students strike after union leader held over alleged anti-India slogans in previous protest.

Indian ministers have voiced increasing opposition to anti-government sentiments

Massive protests have paralysed one of India's top universities in New Delhi after the president of the student union was arrested on charges of sedition. Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested at Jawaharlal Nehru University in the capital on Friday over a protest condemning the 2013 execution of Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri convicted of an attack on India's parliament.

Kumar, a left-leaning student leader, was arrested amid allegations that anti-India slogans were chanted at that protest. On Monday, several student groups called for a strike on campus and very few students attended classes.


Over the weekend thousands of students and teachers from several universities and colleges across India held protest rallies at the university. The arrest came after a student faction linked to the ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party filed a police complaint against the campus event.

On Thursday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted that "If anyone shouts anti India slogan & challenges nation's sovereignty & integrity while living in India, they will not be tolerated or spared".

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