New Delhi, Jul 24 (PTI): Veteran actor-director Amol Palekar on Friday joined the growing chorus of film personalities backing students protesting alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, condemning the police crackdown on demonstrators and offering legal, medical and financial assistance.
In an open letter to the students, published by newspaper Mid-Day, Palekar said he was writing “not merely in solidarity, but with gratitude”, praising the young protesters for carrying forward “the unfinished work of democracy”.
“The images of the brutality inflicted upon you have filled us with anguish and anger. A society learns to question itself in its universities. To question those who hold power over your future is not a privilege you seek; it is a democratic responsibility you fulfil,” Palekar wrote.
“When questions are answered with batons instead of reason, it is not the students who stand diminished. It is the State,” he added.
Calling the students “the first green shoots” of transformation, the actor urged them to remain compassionate and fearless.
“Today you may be called students. Tomorrow you will be known as the generation that chose courage over silence… Long after today’s slogans have faded and today’s rulers have passed, it is your courage that history will remember,” he wrote.
The protests, spearheaded by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), began last month over the NEET paper leak issue and have since spread to several cities. Demonstrators have demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and greater accountability in the conduct of competitive examinations.
The agitation intensified after police used batons, tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters marching towards Parliament in New Delhi earlier this week. Several students were injured and many were detained, triggering widespread criticism from opposition parties, activists and members of the film fraternity.
Drawing parallels with French philosopher and novelist Albert Camus’ famous play “Caligula”, Palekar warned against unchecked power and said history had repeatedly shown that attempts to silence young voices ultimately fail.
“From Tsarist Russia to the student revolt of Paris in 1968, from the youth-led struggle against apartheid in South Africa, Tiananmen Square, to the Navnirman Andolan of 1974 in Gujarat, attempts to suppress young voices have never extinguished the desire for freedom. Authority may command obedience for a while; it cannot indefinitely command the conscience of a generation,” he said.
The 81-year-old actor said he did not join the protests in person because of his age and he did not want attention to shift away from the students.
“This is your movement, your voice, your moment of moral courage. You do not need celebrity validation. Democratic movements derive their legitimacy from the courage of those at their centre, not from the visibility of those who stand beside them,” he wrote.
Palekar, whose wife Sandhya Gokhale also signed the letter, offered support to the students if needed.
“Should this struggle require legal support, medical care, or financial assistance within our means, please do not hesitate to reach out,” he said.
Besides seeking Pradhan’s resignation, protesters have demanded accountability over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, reforms in the education system, Rs 1 crore compensation for the families of students who died by suicide following the alleged NEET paper leak, and the withdrawal of all FIRs and legal action against peaceful protesters who participated in the movement. PTI RB PRK AMJ AMJ
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