Indian film lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar has come under fire after some comments he made on Twitter on Monday about the 67 students from Kashmir who were suspended by Sharda University in Uttar Pradesh for celebrating Pakistan’s victory over India in a cricket match on March 1, in Asia Cup.
Akhtar said that the suspension of the Kashmiri students should not have been revoked, instead they should be rusticated from the varsity and forced to return to the occupied state.
NDTV reported that Swami Vivekanand Subharti University had revoked the suspension and assured the students that they will not be ‘hounded’ once they return to campus.
The Uttar Pradesh government, which had initially filed sedition charges against the students, later withdrew their complaint after human right groups and media highlighted the issue.
Akhtar’s tweet, however, stoked the matter further on social media. It was not long though before he came under heavy criticism for his stance.
In response to a tweet asking him to be ashamed for demanding to sent back the students to Kashmir, Akhtar said such people should be ashamed of supporting those who celebrated a defeat of the Indian cricket team and went on to label them as ‘traitors.’