The crackdown upon the students by the Delhi police today is deplorable though one also has to take into consideration what the police have to say. They have claimed that the woman is question was actually a male student with long hair but this does not absolve the police of having roughed up the students. The manner in which the protesting students were assaulted by the police can never be justified. We live in a democracy and people in a democracy are entitled not only to free speech, they are also entitled the freedom to protest.