Observe ‘right balance’: India tells as pro-Palestine protests rage in US
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New Delhi: India on Thursday said that there should be right balance of freedom and a sense of responsibility in the pro-Palestine protest raging in the US universities.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said authorities are in touch with Indian students studying in US universities, NDTV reported.
The pro-Palestine protests breaking out in the universities demand divestment from Israel-linked entities.
"We have seen reports on the matter and have been following related events. In every democracy, there has to be the right balance between freedom of expression, a sense of responsibility and public safety and order. Democracies in particular should display this understanding in regard to other fellow democracies. After all, we are all judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad," Jaiswal was quoted as saying.
Jaiswal also said that if Indian student are facing any issues authorities will look into them, adding that India supports a two-nation solution to the Israel-Palestine issue.
Pro-Palestine protests, calling out deaths in Gaza began in the Columbia University last week, spread to more campuses across the nation.
As the protest is raging, over a hundred students have been detained for campus occupation, which Jewish students termed as antisemitic.
Protesters demand ceasefire in Gaza, withdrawal of university investment from arms suppliers and companies benefiting the war and stop US military aid to Israel.
Amid tensions, Columbia University turned to virtual learning; meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson faced jeers at the campus when he denounced ‘mob rule’ and ‘virus of antisemitism’.
Police in riot gear were deployed at the University of Texas where students chanted ‘ down with occupation’.
Alongside over 20 protesters were arrested on Wednesday, fifty more were detained at the University of California in Los Angeles and another 130 at the New York University.
Protests were reported at leading universities including Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), UC Berkeley, the University of Michigan, and Brown.
Protesters have set up tents on the campuses of Harvard and other top universities as part of an encampment exercise to protest the Gaza deaths.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the protests at US colleges as "horrific" , adding "antisemitic mobs have taken over leading universities."
