Highlights of Prof Sugata Bose's speech
1. We have a heartless government that refuses to listen to the cries of despair coming from the marginalised sections of our society
2. I deplore the brand of nationalism espoused by the members of the treasury benches that I find narrow, selfish and arrogant
3. The idea of India is not so brittle as to crumble at the echo of a few slogans
4. It is not a crime to seek freedom from caste oppression, freedom from class exploitation, freedom from gender discrimination
5. We must give our students and youth the freedom to think, the freedom to speak, the freedom to be idealistic and yes the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them
6. I condemn the acts of vigilantism by self-appointed protectors of the nation which foments a climate of fear. The government must end the witch-hunt for anti-nationals and the shameful scape-goating of university students
7. The nationalism that is being talked about from the other side of the House, represents centralised despotism and it is talking about rigidly imperial State
8. I fear that those who are defining nationalism so narrowly would brand Rabindranath Tagore, the composer of our National Anthem, as anti-national
9. Free our universities. Free our students. Let our youth dream a glorious future for our country
10. Let our freedom be the freedom of the souls and let us remember the admonition of our great sentinel that what is huge is not great and pride not everlasting
