JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar introduced Soni Sori to the audience at the university.
Highlights
- Tribal rights activist Soni Sori meets students at JNU, pledges support
- Kanhaiya Kumar introduces Sori to audience as a 'real hero'
- Last month, 3 men threw acid-like substance at Sori in Chhattisgarh
More than a fortnight after unknown men threw acid at her in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district last month, tribal rights activist Soni Sori was discharged from a Delhi hospital today. She headed straight for the JNU campus to meet student activists and pledge her support.
JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, who was arrested on charges of sedition last month and released on bail from Tihar jail last week, introduced Ms Sori to the audience at JNU. She described her as a real hero and someone who has been fighting for "
azadi (freedom)" in her own region.
After his release from jail last week, Mr Kumar had delivered an electric speech that began and ended with slogans of freedom from caste discrimination, corruption and other social evils. He gave a call for "freedom in India not from India."
With her face and body still showing signs of the attack, the soft-spoken Ms Sori said she stands in solidarity with the JNU students who are still in jail. More JNU students were arrested after Mr Kumar on charges of sedition for being part of a programme on February 9 where anti-national slogans were allegedly raised.
Ms Sori said, "In Bastar, when cops beat up adivasis and kill them, aren't they traitors as well, killing innocent people, without any evidence? Here, merely on basis of sloganeering people are termed anti-national. Why the double speak?"
She was attacked by three unknown man near Kodenar in Bastar on the evening of February 20. The men forcibly stopped her vehicle on the road and threw a black-coloured substance on her face, causing intense burning and pain. She was taken to the Geedam hospital and later moved to Jagdalpur hospital.
"I want to ask the government, just because we demand our rights and question you are we anti-nationals? We are nationalists not terrorists," she said, speaking in Hindi.
Asked about her release from the hospital amid fears for her safety, she said, "I feel safe in JNU, feel extremely happy being here where the meaning of Azadi is truly understood."
"But, all this is momentary and soon I will be back in Bastar where there is a threat to life every breathing minute," Ms Sori said.