00:00 As leading universities across the US continue to witness protests against Israeli military
00:08 actions in Gaza, India on Thursday said that there has to be a right balance between freedom
00:13 of expression, sense of responsibility and public safety in every democracy.
00:19 Hundreds of students were arrested by the US authorities aiming to quell protests and
00:24 so we have seen the reports on the matter and we have been following the related events,
00:29 India stated.
00:30 In every democracy there has to be the right balance between freedom of expression, sense
00:35 of responsibility and public safety and order, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir
00:40 Jaiswal said at a weekly media briefing.
00:44 Democracies in particular should be following this understanding in regard to other fellow
00:49 democracies after all we are all judged by what we do at home and what we say abroad,
00:54 he said replying to a question.
01:01 In every democracy there has to be the right balance between freedom of expression, sense
01:11 of responsibility and public safety and order.
01:16 Democracies in particular should be following this understanding in regard to other fellow
01:20 democracies after all we are all judged by what we do at home and what we say abroad,
01:28 as far as the question regarding Indian students is concerned, we are always in touch with
01:32 Indian students and as and when there are issues which have to be resolved we will look
01:36 into it.
01:37 Jaiswal said neither the Indian embassy in Washington or any other Indian consulate in
01:42 the US has been approached by Indian students and their families seeking assistance regarding
01:46 any disciplinary action for participation in protests in the universities.
01:52 We expect all our citizens at home and abroad to respect local laws and regulations, he
01:57 added.
01:58 The statements come particularly at a time when the crackdown on US universities is intensifying.
02:04 The New York police raided Columbia University late on Tuesday, arresting dozens of pro-Palestinian
02:09 demonstrators, some of whom had seized an academic building and to remove a protest
02:15 encampment at the Ivy League school had sought to dismantle for nearly two weeks.
02:21 The protests began in response to Israel's military offensive in Gaza following a deadly
02:25 attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel in October 2023.
02:29 The protests since then have spread to dozens of college campuses across the US and now
02:34 to the broader nations including US and Canada too, with students demanding that the universities
02:40 must divest from companies supporting Israel's government and show greater transparency in
02:45 their finances.
02:47 At Columbia, the protests have been organized by a coalition of over 100 student groups.
02:51 Furthermore, the groups have been seeking three main demands from the universities - divestment
02:56 from companies supporting Israel's government, greater transparency in university finances
03:01 and amnesty for students and faculty, discipline over the protests.
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