By Mohd. Ismail Khan, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad: Hundreds of protesters affiliated with different organizations gathered outside Taj Banjara Hotel located in the posh locality of Hyderabad Banjara hills to protest against participation of Israeli universities in Indo global education summit 2012 Hyderabad.
‘The Indus Foundation’, organizer of the Summit invited three prominent Israeli universities, Tel Aviv University, Technion University, and Haifa University.
In the light of eminent participation of Israeli universities in the education summit, International Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (INCACBI) gave a call one month back for the boycott of the universities and protest for the same. “The Israeli state daily tramples on the academic freedom and cultural life of the Palestinian people, and continued association with the instruments of such a state is unconscionable. We believe that academic life is rooted in the values of democracy, equality and justice. The pursuit of excellence in the fields we work in has meaning only if imbued with conscience. When Palestinian students and teachers are not allowed to reach their universities because of permit laws and checkpoints, universities and schools are leveled by bombs and tanks, food, textbooks, and medical supplies are prohibited from entering Gaza, and artistic events are closed down in Jerusalem, none of the foundational principles on which academic and cultural contact are based can ever be fulfilled,” said INCACBI in a statement.
The group charged the three participating Israeli universities of war crimes and grave violation of human rights. According to the group, ‘Tel Aviv University (TAU), Israel’s premier academic institution is deeply invested in the facilitation and prosecution (at both the material and conceptual level) of what amount to war crimes. Technion university has long been known to be complicit in Israel’s violations of international law and the rights of Palestinians, specifically by designing military weapons and developing technologies used to drive Palestinians off their land, repress demonstrations for their rights, and carry out attacks against people in Lebanon, Gaza, and elsewhere. Haifa University sponsors scholarships for army veterans and those who took part in the 2008/9 military attack on the Gaza Strip.’
Earlier on September 3, many organizations with left leanings like SFI, DYFI, Aawaaz, Indo Arab League, Confederation of Voluntary Associations, CITU, UTF, All India Lawyers Union and AIDWA organized a round table conference which gave ultimatum to the summit organizers to not allow Israeli universities involved in war crimes. When organizers didn’t pay any heed to the warning and allowed the participation of universities from Israel in the Indo global education summit all the organizations called for protest and boycott of the summit.
As the education summit began on 7th of September protestors started gathering on the venue site, huge police protection was allotted for the venue. The showdown began on the first day of the summit when organizations with left affiliations marched towards the venue with placards and banners demanding end of blockade on Palestine and urging cultural boycott of Israel. The protestors led by former Member of Parliament of CPI(M) P. Madhu and former M.L.A, M.A. Gafoor ended up in the scuffle with police.
Traffic was jammed for one hour in the busy routes and due to the protests whole locality of Banjara hills was rocked by anti-Israeli slogans. Police used the force and arrested all the protesters and took them into custody. Speaking to the media after the protest P. Madhu said “Indian establishment is performing shameful hypocrisy; on one side they support independence of Palestine people and on the other hand they are increasing cultural ties with Israel which is the persecutor of Palestinian people.”
M.A. Gafoor said, “Israel is not allowing Palestinian children and youngsters to get proper education let alone higher education. Israel in its every day activity is crushing the educational and cultural rights of people of Palestine. Indian govt. should not support such a fascist regime by making education coordination with universities involved in human rights violations.”
Later in the day activists of Student Islamic Organization of India under the banner of Friends of Palestine organized a human chain and tried to march towards the venue of the summit. Young activists was holding the banners and play cards which reads ‘education is for development not for persecution’ which depict war planes coming out of Israeli university.
Peaceful protest by Friends of Palestine was crushed forcefully by the police and all the activists were arrested and shifted to Banjara hills police station, they were later released in the evening.
The education summit ended on 9th September marking continuous protest by several activists in favor of Palestine which was not given proper consideration in the mainstream media. The educational summit with the theme ‘Educational excellence without Borders’ witnessed the participation of Universities from around 40 countries. The basic aim of the annual educational summit is to endorse collaborative planning in Indian academics with different foreign universities and to promote foreign educational institutes among Indian students.