Attackers beat protesting students at leading university in India

NEW DELHI — Masked assailants beat students and teachers with sticks on the campus of a prestigious university in India’s capital, injuring more than 20 people in an attack opposition lawmakers blamed on the government.

Videos that emerged after the assault late Sunday showed people in masks roaming inside the corridors of Jawaharlal Nehru University and beating students who were protesting against a fee hike. Most of the injured were treated at a hospital for cuts and bruises, said Aarti Vij, a spokeswoman at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

New Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik said the incident was a clash between rival student groups. But opposition parties and injured students blamed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a student organization linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

“The fascists in control of our nation are afraid of the voices of our brave students. Today’s violence in JNU is a reflection of that fear,” tweeted Rahul Gandhi, a leading politician from the main opposition Congress party.

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, which includes students at Jawaharlal Nehru University, released a statement saying the group didn’t start Sunday’s violence and insisted their members were attacked first by students with links to communist groups.

Communist-linked student organizations at the university have led recurring protests against the fee increase, which went into effect in November. Opponents say the fee hike makes education too expensive for many.

The government was quick to condemn the violence.

“Horrifying images from JNU — the place I know & remember was one for fierce debates & opinions but never violence. I unequivocally condemn the events of today,” Finance Minister...