While the Left-backed group had former Navy Chief Admiral (retd) Lakshminarayan Ramdas and Retired colonel Lakshmeswar Mishra to deliver lectures on 'demilitarisation of nationalism', members of the student wing of BJP organised a parallel series.
Addressing the gathering on the topic "Nationalism: Straight from battlefield" Brigadier (retd) Sharma said, "Pakistan knows that it can't defeat us on battlefield, therefore they are waging a proxy war and trying to benefit from our internal weaknesses to disturb our internal security.
Lieutenant General (retd) Malik talked about the two mistakes India had committed according to him.
"The first was to recognize Tibet as the part of China". Tibet was historically our neighbour and China was nowhere far from us but that mistake drew China closer and posed it as our great neighbouring enemy. Another mistake was going to UNO on Jammu and Kashmir," he said.
While the organisation of the programme was objected by ABVP, three students including the union president Kanhaiya Kumar are in custody in a sedition case over the event.
"The incident and the subsequent defence of the event citing 'free speech' by some 'intellectuals' was painful and the words by the ex-servicemen have provided us immense courage to continue our fight against the 'anti-national' elements," said Saurabh Kumar Sharma, Joint Secretary JNUSU and lone ABVP member in the union.
"cowardice, compromise and collusion", ABVP has sought an assurance from the administration that "such anti-national and seditious event shall not take in future".
"The arbitrariness of punishment reveals the buckling of the JNU administration under pressure from students union and teachers association. One of the participants of the event is a daughter of a politician and has not been given any punishment.
"Some of them are the habitual offenders and awarding feather-like punishment is making heroes out of demons," ABVP said.
JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattachayra were arrested on the charge of sedition in February in connection with the controversial event and are out on bail.
You’ve reached your limit of {{free_limit}} free articles this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →
Smart Quarterly
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Exclusive premium stories online
Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors


Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share


Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor


Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements


Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app
