Why in News? The widespread protests against the war in Gaza across dozens of US university campuses, and the unprecedented crackdowns are a sign of a triple crisis: Of liberal democracy, of the university, and (paradoxically) of anti-war protests as well.

What is the Crisis of Liberal Democracy? The world community and America, which has the most influence over Israel, have both shown moral negligence towards the horrors in Gaza. It has also revealed that free speech may be suppressed or influenced by political ends, even in a nation with robust first amendment safeguards.

What is the Crisis of the University? Over the last few years, higher education has increasingly become a political target. The political attention to universities is not about restoring pedagogical excellence or depoliticising the university. In fact, it is an attempt to hyper politicise the university by attacking its legitimacy from the outside.

What is the Crisis of Anti-War Protests? The larger discourse on the war has divided students into Anti-Semitism versus Islamophobia debate. Students are perceived as threats to other students. Politicians and administrations have a stake in this division. A protest that gets construed not as a protest on principle, but a potential conflict between two groups risks losing its moral lustre.

What are the Consequences of this Triple Crisis? The object of discussion has become the university, not the war in Gaza. The discussion that is now dominating the world is the discussion about alleged limits to freedom in American universities, regardless of the fact that all of Gaza's universities have been destroyed.