The erudite and soft-spoken former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh built his reputation as a consensus builder during his tenure as Finance Minister, who opened the doors to economic reforms in India. But his intervention to stop the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration from taking action against students protesting against him in 2005 displayed a new dimension to his personality.
Singh, who had reached the JNU campus to unveil the statue of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, was shown black flags by leftist students. After this incident, the university issued show cause notices to the students and some of them were also detained by Delhi Police.
A day later, Singh intervened and asked the then Vice Chancellor B.B. Bhattacharya was suggested to adopt a soft approach towards the students.
During a visit to the campus, known for his staunch anti-authoritarian stance, Singh quoted French philosopher Voltaire as saying, “I may disagree with what you want to say, but I disagree with your right to say it.” I will protect it till my death.”
Singh had said in his speech, “If every member of the university community aspires to be worthy of a university, he must accept the truth of Voltaire’s classic statement. Voltaire had said, ‘I may disagree with you. I am, but I will defend your right to say it till the day I die.’ This idea should be the cornerstone of a liberal institution.”
Recalling the incident, a retired JNU professor said, “The students showed him black flags. The then Vice-Chancellor got a call from the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) asking him to be lenient with the students as it was their responsibility to protest.” Have the right. After this the students were released with a warning.”
JNU has been the epicenter of protests over the past decade, with the 2016 sedition controversy sparking debate about freedom of expression on campus. Bhattacharya recalled the 2005 incident during an interview in 2016.
He had said, “Manmohan Singh had told me, ‘Sir, please be lenient.’ I said that I have to at least warn them. But the problem today is that the lines of communication with the students have been broken.”
Bollywood actress and JNU alumnus Swara Bhaskar recalled that she was a student at the university when the incident happened.
Bhaskar wrote in a post on There was an ‘anti-Naxal’ campaign. There was talk of protests on campus. Of course there was a lot of security, but leftist student organizations, probably AISA or DSU, waved black flags all over the campus and two leftist students Succeeded in disrupting the Prime Minister’s speech by raising slogans and showing black flags.”
He said, “They were immediately removed and apparently given expulsion notices. A few days later we heard that the PMO had called the Vice Chancellor and requested that the students not be expelled, as it is their democratic right to protest! Today How different this is from Indian politics, leadership and political environment is a testament to why MMS (Manmohan Singh) was a great Prime Minister!”
Former JNU student leader Umar Khalid, who was booked in the 2016 sedition controversy and is in jail in a separate case, also shared the incident.
In 2020, he said in a post on Sent the notice. The very next day, the PMO intervened and asked the administration not to take any action as protest is the democratic right of the students.”
“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, facing slogans and black flags from student protesters, began his speech by quoting Voltaire: ‘I may not agree with what you say, but I die for your right to say it,'” he said. I will protect till my death.'”
