The uproar has once again sparked accusations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party are cracking down on political dissent in the name of patriotism.
Cordons of police officers were blocking right-wing Hindu organizations that support the BJP from entering the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, where thousands of students have been protesting for days.
Police also arrested Delhi University lecturer S.A.R. Geelani on Tuesday. Both he and student leader Kanhaiya Kumar are accused of sedition for participating in events where slogans were shouted against India and against the 2013 secret hanging of a Kashmiri separatist convicted of an attack on Parliament.
Few students attended classes on Monday amid a university call to strike. Later, mobs of lawyers and BJP supporters attacked students outside the courthouse where Kumar was to appear. The protests at the university and in front of the courthouse also brought New Delhi traffic to a standstill for several hours.
On Tuesday, the students were joined by JNU teachers for their demonstration inside the gated, university campus to demand Kumar's release.
Most classes were still suspended, according to PhD science student Pamchui, who goes by one name.
"I am feeling safer now, as there is security outside the campus," she said.
Journalists also planned to march through central New Delhi on Tuesday, after several were reportedly attacked by mobs while trying to cover Monday's protests. Journalist unions demanded better protection for reporters in the field, and accused police of standing by during the attacks.
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