Hundreds of teachers at one of India's top universities went on strike Tuesday to protest at the arrest of a student on a controversial sedition charge that has sparked mass protests. Student union leader Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on Friday for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans at a rally called to protest against a Kashmiri separatist's execution three years ago - a charge he denies.
His arrest has reignited a row over freedom of expression in India, where some rights campaigners say the Hindu nationalist government is using the British-era sedition law to clamp down on dissent. Violence broke out on Monday at the court where Kumar, head of the student union at New Delhi's prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), was remanded in custody. The opposition Congress Party accused supporters of the ruling nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being behind attacks on students, academics and journalists who had gone to the court for the hearing. It condemned police for failing to protect them.
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