‘I raised slogans, but they were not antinational’

NEWDELHI:On Wednesday two groups of students — one of which was led by ABVP — clashed with each other during a protest over a event where JNU students had been invited to speak.

Later, there were also reports that some students had come searching for Mukul Mangalik, an associate professor at the history department of Ramjas College, for raising anti-national slogans. HT on Friday caught up with the history professor. Excerpts from an interview We were shocked after the college was forced to call off a seminar amid heated protests against an invite to JNU students Shehla Rashid and Umar Khalid. We in Ramjas College have always stood for dialogue and discussions. So, we took out a protest march in the college during which I along with other students did raise slogans like “Hume chahiye aazadi, gubdagardi (hooliganism) se aazadi, dehshatgardi (terror) se aazadi.” allegations. But I need to put things in context. Even if such slogans were raised by some students, which I am not aware of, it would have been done to mean an end to exploitation of tribals and minorities in these regions. This nowhere means that these two regions should not be a part of India. As a teacher of Ramjas College, we have always taught our students to question things . Our Constitution allows us to hold peaceful protests. So slogans like gundagardi (hooliganism) se aazadi, bhukhmari (starvation) se aazadi, garibi (free- dom) se aazadi, when raised, are not anti-India at all. In the past couple of years a section of students have become so intolerant that they are not ready to listen to anything. I have always taught students that my views with you on certain matters may differ and that is okay. I have told them that if there is violence, then they should always take a side that is against the perpetrators of such violence.