Many of us who were born in independent India and taught social sciences in universities until recently had taken academic freedom for granted (“‘Be with us again, in freedom, Sharjeel and Umar’: A JNU teacher’s message for her jailed students”). We had often forgotten that others suffered so that we could live in a better country and enjoy the freedoms that we hold dear to our heart and are considered essential for our academic pursuit.
Some of us fought for freedom during the Emergency and encouraged our students to put in practice what we taught them in classes or made them read about the basic values of democratic societies.
With the emergence of communal fascism in the country, academic freedom has become virtually absent. Fighting for the freedom of thought and expression has not only become difficult but necessary. We need to stand up for the heroes of our time, Umar and Sharjeel, and also celebrate their fight. – Apurba K Baruah
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This was a touching write-up. I enjoyed reading every word of the article. – HG Jayalakshmi.
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Brilliant review (“Ramachandra Guha: In praise of Dr Umar Khalid, from one historian to another”). It is very sad that Dr Umar Khalid has been denied bail once again. – Nagaraj NP
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How courageous is Ramachandra Guha. It is…
Source: Readers’ comments: We need to stand up for the heroes of our time, Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam
