UoH Alumni Open Letter against the institutional murder of Rohith Vemula, the return of Dr. Appa Rao as UoH’s VC, and the brutal display of state violence in campus.

March 25, 2016

As alumni of the University of Hyderabad, we observed with dismay the return of Dr. Appa Rao Podile as the Vice-Chancellor of University of Hyderabad (UoH) on March 22. We strongly condemn this provocation that led to the police brutality on campus. The shutdown of the university which has followed is unacceptable and unlawful.

A couple of days ago, a report ranked three departments of the University of Hyderabad among the top 500 university facilities in the world. The education we received at UoH helped us to not only shape our careers, but also to question, critique and analyse concepts such as equality, fraternity and social justice. Upon entering a central university of this size, we were exposed to the sheer diversity of this country. UoH, like other central universities in India, is an amalgam of many languages, cultures, religions and regions.

However, much like the rest of the country, the university campus is a space where systematically oppressive caste structures operate and are institutionally legitimised. Recent events at UoH have left us dismayed and angered at the treatment meted out to peacefully protesting students at the hands of the administration and the police.

Suicides of Dalit students have been recurring in UoH. While such incidents continue unabated across the country, the issue spiralled into a nationwide students’ protest with the untimely death of Dalit scholar and social activist Rohith Vemula on January 17, 2016. Rohith’s suicide note gives us glimpses into the individual that he was — an astute observer of the human condition. His progressive ideas gave hope, especially to marginalised groups, for whom he fought tirelessly. The son of a Dalit mother who makes her living out of a sewing machine, he proudly bore his mother’s identity and fought for the rights of all people regardless of caste, class, gender and sexuality. He was especially vocal about the plight of Dalit students, a 200-million-strong population that has historically been denied fair opportunities to achieve social mobility in Indian society. It is unforgivable that the university administration could not save him.

A grave problem lies, therefore, in the fact that as of March 22, Dr. Appa Rao Podile, who mismanaged the suspension of Rohith and others, leading to his suicide, has resumed the office of the VC after two months of leave. This is highly inappropriate especially given that a non-bailable charge is registered against him under the SC/ST Atrocities Act and a judicial inquiry to determine accountability is still pending.

“We the alumni of University of Hyderabad write to draw attention to the atrocities that the students are experiencing for raising their voices against injustice”

The morning of Rao’s return saw an unprecedented display of violence in the campus. The media reported that the students pelted stones and ransacked the VC’s lodge. But, information from several sources, especially eyewitness accounts from students, faculty and non-teaching staff, contests mainstream media reports. There is ample footage of the police brutally assaulting students with lathis. Some police personnel allegedly threatened to rape students. Even faculty members were not spared.

After the incident, the university has been locked down with no food (14 messes have shut operations), water, electricity (in some parts), and no internet connectivity. This cannot be the reality of a central university, where, as we write this letter, ATM cards linked to student accounts have been blocked barring students from making essential purchases. Students who attempted to cook for their peers were severely beaten up by the police for the absurd crime of ‘cooking in a public place’. The administration has imposed an emergency-like situation in one of India’s biggest universities. Today UoH resembles a surveillance state with students being attacked, and their basic needs like food, water and money being denied to them. As the University and state administration try to starve out its own students by using state machinery and the law to wage war on members of a public institution, the response of the city has been heartening, with residents of Hyderabad cooking and delivering food and water to the students.

In light of these developments, we appeal to all citizens to keep asking the unpleasant questions that Rohith’s suicide has raised; questions about the persistence of caste in our educational institutions, and the present government’s apathy and refusal to hold the university administration accountable. Universities are spaces for understanding our complex social structures where questions are and must be raised against the abuse of power and authoritarianism.

We the undersigned alumni of this university-in-turmoil write to draw attention to the atrocities that the students are experiencing for raising their voices against injustice. We stand with the students and faculty around the country in universities like UoH, JNU, FTII, DU, IIT Madras, University of Allahabad and numerous others that are fighting to uphold the freedoms that are guaranteed by our constitution. We stand with Radhika Vemula and her ongoing courageous struggle for justice against a casteist and patriarchal administration. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of students and faculty members who were ambushed and taken into judicial custody on the morning of March 22. We condemn any kind of violence that tries to suppress freedom of expression and seeks instead to spread fear. Let all students and citizens debate to make India the safest example of a real grassroot democracy. Let them speak for a just world where everyone feels safe to just be.

Endorsements

Name	Affiliation	Year of graduation	Course of study
Nanditha Mathew	Research Fellow, National Research Council, Italy.	2009	M.A and M.Phil Economics
Aabha Sharma	KPMG India	2014	IMA Political Science
RASHAD MOIDEEN	No Affiliation	2014
Hameeda C. K.	Student, JNU	2014
VG Balaji	Alumnus	2010
Gopika G G	PhD Scholar, Centre for Development Studies	2014
Krishnendu Adiyat	Student	2012
Vaishnavi Shankar	Instructional Designer	2008	MA English
Anu Salelkar	Alumni, Student, Hyderabad Central University	2008
Juby George	Editor, Higher ed publisher	2010
Silpa Satheesh	Student, University of South Florida	2010
Alamuru Soumya	Frelane research scholar	2011
Shauhrat S. Chopra	Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago	2009
Carmel Christy	Postdoctoral fellow, University of California Santa Cruz	2011
Shijo Varghese	Asst. Professor, Sacred Heart College, Thevara	2013
A.P Sreeraj	Assistant Professor, CUR	2010
Abhigna S	Academic Editor	2012
Bestin Samuel	Writer, World Vision India	2012	M.A English and MPhil Comparative Literature
Maithreyi M R	Senior editor, BNHS-India	1997
Ramesh Bairy	Associate professor, IITB	2004
Navika Harshe	HCU/ alum	2004
Anirban Dey	Editor, Cambridge University Press	2010
Bindhulakshmi P	Associate Professor, TISS, Mumbai	2010
Shipra Nigam	Research Scholar , New Delhi	2000
Jaseena t p	Student	2003
Tore Holst	External lecturer, university of Roskilde	2007	MA English
Diana Gomes	Alumni, UoH	2014	M.F.A Painting
Tharakeshwar	Eflu	2014
Rakesh Nanjappa	Student, State University of New York	2014
Priya Vijay	PhD scholar, JNU	2014	M.A English and MPhil Comparative Literature
Shamsudheen U. K	HCU alumni	2013
Aparna R	HCU alumni	2014
Samiah Sultana	Ex-student, University of Hyderabad	2015
Mahaprajna Nayak	CSSSC, Kolkata	2005
Kirti Ajith Varma	Independent researcher	2011
Meghana Rao	PhD Student, University of Toronto	2013
Faiza Hasan	Alumni, University of Hyderbad	2014
Savitha Suresh	Student, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore	2014
Merlin Abey Theressa	Analyst, Private Firm	2012
Soumava Basu	Student	2013
Jithin Mathew	Student IIT B	2012
Soumya Balan	Student	2010
Nithin M	Assistant Professor, MCC	2012
Dhaneesh M P	M.Phil Research Scholar	2002
Sreekumar jayadevan	IIT Jodhpur	2012
Manjari	Student, Central University of Gujarat	2012
Ojas Shetty	Independent Researcher	2015	MA Anthropology
Sheeja Rajagopal	Student, IITM	2002	MA English
Abhishek Bakuli	Student, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung	2008
Abir Dasgupta	Student, TISS	2011
R K Debbarma	Assistant Professor, TISS, Guwahati campus	2014
Rahul Deshmukh	Student, City University of New York	2012
Gowri Shankar	Student, UOH	2012

Muhammed P	Research Scholar, EFL University, Hyderabad	2007
Deepti	Chief copy editor, The Times of India	2011
Sujata Mishra	Policy Researcher	2010
Rohit Thapa	Teach For India	2007
Himanshu Upadhyaya	Assistant Professor, Azim Premji University	2014
M Naresh Kumar	Student	2003
Tore Holst	Recent PhD Graduate/Roskilde University	2006
Shilpaa Anand	Assistant Professor, Maulana Azad National Urdu University Hyderabad	2006
Monty Majeed	Journalist	2000
Manjari	Student, Central University of Gujarat	2011
Vikas Kumar Moola	M.Phil Social Sciences, CSSSC	2012	IMA Sociology
SALMA ASHRAF	STUDENT, University of Hyderabad	2012
Richa Gupta	Centre for Studies in Social Sciences Calcutta/PhD research scholar	2012	MA English
Kevin B. Haynes	Student, Western Michigan University	2012
Nandini Chandrashekar	Student	2014
M Naresh Kumar	Student/University of Hyderbad	2006	MA English
Kedar Kulkarni	Student, University of Hyderabad	2006
Nikhilesh Sinha	Lecturer, Hult International Business School, London	2004	MA Economics
Arpan Ganguly	Student, UoH/Graduate Instructor, Colorado State University	2004
Tejaswini Madabhushi	IIIT	2012
Srinath raghunathan	Student	2008
Karteek Kunnala	Student	2014
Harshavardhan	Student	2014
Knut Aukland	Phd candidate, University of Bergen, Norway	2014
Asamol Mohan	student	2008
Lijinesh M T	student	2010
Ratheesh Radhakrishnan	Associate Professor, Dept. of HSS, IIT Bombay	2011
Devi G R	PhD scholar, Dept. of Physics, IIT Madras	2012	M.Sc. Physics
PRITI LAISHRAM	Student, DELHI SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS	2012
Laishram Priyanka	Alumni, University of Hyderabad	2014
Sharmila	Associate Professor, Dept. of HSS, IIT Bombay	2014
Yacoub Zachariah Kuruvilla	Phd Research Scholar, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai	2001
Rekha Abel	Independent Development Consultant	1995	Ph.D. Linguistics
Alex M. Thomas	Senior Lecturer, Azim Premji University	2011	MA and MPhil Economics
K.Srilata	Professor, Dept of HSS, IITM	1998	MA, MPhil and PhD English
Tejaswini Niranjana	Professor, TISS and Lingnan University	1998
Swati Bandi	Independent Scholar	1998 – present	Faculty
Sujith Parayil	student	2000
Paromita Bose	Assistant Professor, Mahindra Ecole Centrale	2014	M.Phil, PhD English
Jayanti K Chhetri	Alumni, University of Hyderabad	2010
Suresh Pittala	Postdoc at Indian Institute of Science	2010
Sanjeev C M	Assistant Professor, NIFT	2000	MFA Painting
Jasmeet Sahi	Freelance writer	2008	MA English
Anupama S	Ex Student UoH	2008
Priyanka Das	Student, UOH	2014
Sanjeev Routray	Sessional Lecturer, University of British Columbia	2001
Shashikantha Koudur	Associate Professor, NIT, Karnataka	2001
Amrit Amlan Pattanaik	Senior Lecturer, Xavier University Bhubaneswar	2008
Unika Prusty	Freelance Journalist & Independent Researcher	2010
Bidyut Sagar Boruah	Independent Researcher	2009
Dharashree Das	PhD Candidate, Simon Fraser University, Canada	2001
Gurveen Kaur	Independent Researcher, Alumnus	1986
Pridhvi Sabbineni	Alumnus,University of Hyderabad (Physics)	2012
Mohsin Khan	Economist/consultant – Deloitte Malaysia	2009	MA Economics
Sawmya Ray	Associate Professor, IITG	2009
Vaskar Upadhyay	UoH, MA English, 2001. Currently based IN, US	2009
Kiriti Kanjilal	PhD Student, Washington State University	2013
Koshy Tharakan	Professor, Goa University	1992
Kushal Deb	Professor, Dept. of HSS, IIT Bombay	1989
Navaneetha Mokkil Maruthur	Assistant Professor, JNU	2001
TV Madhu	Professor, University of Calicut	1996
Lourembam Arnold	Student, University of Hyderabad	2014-present
Sudeshna Devi	Student, Jawaharlal Nehru University	2007
Shravan Kumar	Alumni, University of Hyderabad	1997-1999	MA Communication – SN School
Avinandan Mukherjee	Alumnus, University of Hyderabad	2007	MA English
Swathysree	PhD Candidate, IIM Calcutta	2013
Akhila M V	Alumnus, University of Hyderabad	2011
J S Sam	Social Scientist	2007
Sujith SN	Artist.	2007	MFA – SN School
Uday Bhaskar Sharma	Senior Research Fellow, IMSc, Chennai.	2011	M.Sc. Mathematics (Integrated)
Madhusudan Nag	Research Scholar, Centre for Development Studies	2011-13	M.A in Economics
Umasankar Patra	University of Delhi, Delhi	2011	MA English
Vishal Babu	Editor, Viva Books Private Limited	2011	MA English
Parvathy Rajendran	Student,JNU	2013
Anandavardhanan	Associate Professor, IIT Bombay	2002
Vipin Krishna	JNU PHD Student	2010
Jaya Peter	Student, HCU,HYDERABAD	1996
Rekha Abel	Independent Development Consultant	1995
Divyaprabha V J	Student	2012
Anita Cherian	Assistant Professor in English, Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi	1993
Bindu K C	Ambedkar University/ Assistant Professor	2004
Anupama Ayyala Somayajala	Central University, Gujarat/Assistant Professor	1998
Venkatesh babu	Student	1996
Pratap	Student	1996
Anil kumar	Student	1996
Madhumita Biswal	Central University, Assistant Professor	2009
Sudarshan Papanna	Central University, Gujarat/Assistant Professor	2012
Abhishek Shaw	Assistant Editor, Economic and Political Weekly	2011
Jomy Abraham	PhD research scholar, JNU	2013
Deepak Rajula	Student, UOH	2014
Parvathi	Cug	2009
Kranthi Nanduri	Fellow student, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta	2014
Reshma Radhakrishnan	Research Scholar, Delhi University	2005
Parvathi K. Iyer	Assistant Professor CUG	2009
Amit Upadhyay	Assistant Professor, TISS Hyderabad	2001	MA Sociology
Rituparna Sur	university of hyderabad	2012
D Parthasarathy	IIT Bombay Professor	1995
Ratheesh Kumar	JNU/ Assistant Professor	2000
Rajyashree Sen	PhD student, Janelia Research Campus, VA	2012
Dr. Robin Luke Varghese	Independent Researcher	2015	MA, MPhil, PhD Philisophy
Niveditha Kalarikkal	Assistant Professor, , Central University of Gujarat	2013
Shamsiya Qosimova	Independent Contractor, BBC Monitoring in Dushanbe	2001
Sunitha M	Lead Technical Writer, Wipro Technologies, Hyderabad	2006
Saiyora Saimurodova	Student, Master of Arts in Sociology, HCU	2001
K.L.Leon	Ex-Student,SN School,Painting	2003
Dr.D.Anand	Asst. Regional Director , Indira gandhi National Open University	2008
Asmita Chaudhuri	Project Fellow, Jadavpur University	2007	MA, Applied Linguistics
Samik Malla	Research Scholar, IIT Madras	2013
Smrti K.P	IxD Architect, Nokia	2007	MPhil English, PhD Translation Studies
Dr. Itishree Pattnaik	Assistant Professor, GIDR	2009	Phd Economics
Naresh S	Ex-Student,SSB	2006
Shivali Tukdeo	NIAS, Bangalore
Milan George Jacob	Hindustan Times, New Delhi	2014	IMA Economics
S. Anand	Publisher, Navyana	1997	MA and Mphil, Department of English
Elizabeth Priyanka	Ex-student, MA Communication	2013	SN School.
Sumanta Thangjam	Phd, Philosophy	2013
Thushara Mohanan	Ex Student , MA Communication	2009	SN School
Pritipushpa Mishra	Lecturer, University of Southampton
Jasmine Yimchunger	Assistant Proffessor, Sikkim University	2007	MA Communications – SN School
Balendu Rashmi	Bhumika Women’s Collective	2014	Integrated Masters in Sociology

Sudha Samyukta	PRIA	2014	Integrated Masters in Sociology
Geetha Krishna	PRIA	2014	Integrated Masters in Sociology
Vinitha Mokshagundam	Lecturer, Mount Carmel College, Bangalore	2012	MA, M.Phil, History
Ado Kehie	Student, IIT Guhati	2005	MA Sociology
Ganga Bhavani	HCU	2004
Jaishree Ram Mohan	Editor,	1994
Thungchobeni	Assistant Professor,Alder College,Kohima.	2007
Jyotsna Yedem	HCU Alumni	2008
Akshara Ravishankar	Assistant Professor, Gargi College	2012
Themeem T	Asst. professor, St. Stephens College, Delhi	2015
Vinitha	Lecturer, Mount Carmel College, Bangalore	2012
Suresh K Golle	student	2009
Vizokhonuo	student	2015
Pattela Omkar Nadh	Student	2014
Malavika Rao	Performance maker	2008
Monica	Ex Student from UOH	2014
Sumedha	Student,HCU	2011
Minu. A	Alumni	2011
Kiran Sikha	Student	2012
Naveen Kumar P	Student	2011
Deepthi Krisha T	Student	2016
Santosh Gurrani	Alumni, Hyderabad Central University	2011
Chandra Kiran Katta	Communication Specialist/NGO	2006
Queenie Fancon	student	2009
Shravan Kumar	University of Hyderabad – Alumni	1999
Dhilip	Independent Researcher	2012
Aswani RS	HCU Student	2011
Monica Nanjunda	University Of Hyderabad – Alumni	2013	SN School Of Fine Arts
Kedar Kulkarni	Research Assistant, FEEM, Italy	2014	IMA Economics
Rakesh R.	Assistant Proffessor, St. John’s College	2012	MA and MPhil, Department of English
Imlienla Jamir	Student, Analog IAS	2014	IMA Political Science
Ekta Singla	Student, UCL-Institute of Education, London	2011	MA Applied Linguistics
S Sayujya	Alumnus, UoH	2014	MPhil English
Anwesha Chakraborty	Phd Student, University of Bologna	2007	MA English
Ratan Laishram	Alumni HCU	2012	MA Economics
Sunil Kumar Polamuri	IT Professional	1999	MA Applied Linguistics
Sukriti Kapur	Student, Erasmus Mundus Masters Program	2014	MA Economics
Tharakeshwar V.B.	Teacher, EFL University	1997	Ph.D. English
Madhurima Majumder	Research fellow, Anveshi	2013
M B Sudha Rani	Media Professional	1999	MA Mass Communications
Rakesh Sengupta	Post-doctoral researcher, York University, Toronto	2015	Ph.D., Cognitive Science
G Naga Sena Rana	Media Professional	1999	MA Mass Communications
Sopei Joel Rungsung	Media Professional	2013	MA Mass Communications
Sashikant	alumnus	2000
Aravind Parakkot	Alumnus	2001	MA English
Anu K antony	Research fellow, IIT, Bombay		MA, Mphil Sociology
Anna Mini	Freelance writer	2014	MA Political Science
Anas Nazar
Rajeswari S	Alumnus	2004
Yanger Kichu		2007	MA History
Asima Jena	Assistant professor,Central University of Gujarat	2009
Anuradha Banerji	Research Scholar, Ambedkar University	2011
Sreejith T	Student	2012
Mrudula Bhavani	Ex-student	2015
Anju Christine Lingham	Student, King’s College London, University of London	2013
Arathi R	Student	2014
Pallavi	Student	2017
Lakshmi Priya	Student	2013
Pranith Maddirala	SN School, University of Hyderabad	2011
Esfandiar Adina (Rahim Rahimov)	Student	2002
sukhvinder multani	educationist and researcher	2004
Varunika Saraf	Artist	2006
Monu Rajan	Alumnus, UoH	2011
Shriya sharma	Student	2015
Abhilash Augustine	Student, JNU	2013
madhav vinodh	Student, UoH	2013
Kathi Mahesh Kumar	Student	2000
Nagesh Muppavaram	Student	2013
Hariprasad R	Student, central university of hyderabad	2011
Godwin	Student	2013
TINCHU P JAMES	STUDENT	2011
Sujatha Girija	Alumnae of HCU	2004
Harini Kumar	PhD student, University of Chicago	2011
Elsa Oommen	Warwick	2011
Mariyam Mumthas	student	2015
Anagha	Alumni	2015
Anoop Daniel	Student	2015
JNANESH R J	HCU	2011
Gautami	Alumnus/University of Hyderabad	2012
Nargis Vasundhara	Student, Ph.D, Delhi University	2011
JOSEPH MICHAEL JOSE	alumni	2011

Suspended VC barged in to disrupt university’s progress towards normalcy

March 25, 2016

Professor Tathagata Sengupta's explosive interview shortly before he was illegally detained on March 22, 2016.

In this interview he traces how the Acting Vice Chancellor Periasami, appointed after the students protests following Rohith Vemula's death was making considerable headway in discussions with students and faculty at the Hyderabad Central University (HCU). A meeting of the Academic Council had been scheduled for March 24, 2016 to raise the Research Scholarship amounts as per UGC norms, appoint a Anti-Discrimination Committee according to a UGC circular of 2009 that was re-issued following the institutional murder of Rohith Vemula on January 17, 2016.

Students have been meeting the acting Vice Chancellor and the situation was fast returning to normal, says professor Sengupta. In that circumstance the irregular return of suspended VC Appa Rao while an MHRD inquiry against him was still afoot appears clearly motivated and inspired by ulterior considerations. Apart from the discrimination faced by Dalit students and those belonging to the OBC sections, Professor Tathagata Sengupta also speaks about the acute marginalistion of a Muslim student by sections of the faculty. This is on account of the narrow caste bias of sections of the facility at HCU.

Professor Tathagata Sengupta had also written a letter on behalf of the SC/ST Teachers Forum and Concerned Faculty of the HCU to the Minister MHRD, Smriti Irani on February 26, 2016. This can be read here.

Dontha Prashanth, close colleague of Rohith Vemula who was one of the five students belonging to the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) suspended by the authorities in 2015 also spoke to the gathering. In the video the ACP of the area is heard addressing the students who have assembled peacefully. Dontha Prashanth on behalf of the protesting students says, as can be heard from the video that since there is an FIR against the suspended Vice Chancellor Appa Rao under the SC/ST Atrocities Act, the police should arrest him and not "shield a culprit."

On January 19, 2-16 itself the Cyberabad Cell of the Hyderabad police registered an FIR on a complaint by the students. An FIR was registered under IPC Section 306 (abetment of suicide) and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. (Union minister of state) Bandaru Dattatreya, vice-chancellor Appa Rao Podile, MLC N. Ramachandra Rao and ABVP activists Susheel Kumar and Rama Krishna have been named in the FIR, the Gachibowli inspector J. Ramesh Kumar told the media.

‘We are brothers’: Pope washes feet of refugees during Holy Thursday Mass

March 25, 2016

Image: Reuters

In an extraordinary gesture affirming our common humanity and his emphasising open-arms policy towards those forced to flee their homelands, Pope Francis yesterday washed and kissed the feet of Muslim, Orthodox, Hindu and Catholic refugees. They are all the children of the same God, he declared.

As he poured holy water from a brass pitcher over their feet, wiped them clean and kissed them, several of the migrants were moved to tears.

The gesture is particularly significant in view of the growing anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant sentiment across the West and which has been fuelled further by the terror attack in Brussels.

The Holy Thursday ritual commemorating Jesus washing the feet of his apostles before being crucified symbolises the spirit of service towards humanity. The Pope performed his service during the Easter Week Mass with asylum-seekers provided shelter in Castelnuovo di Porto, near Rome city.

The Pope contrasted his own gesture with the “gesture of war” and “gesture of destruction” perpetrated by the blood-thirsty terrorists. He added that the terror acts were aimed at destroying the brotherhood of all humanity which the plight of the migrants invokes.

“We have different cultures and religions, but we are brothers and we want to live in peace,” said the pontiff.

The Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio who became Pope Francis in March 2013, is the first non-European to be elevated to the high office in over 1,300 years. And in his short stint as head of the Roman Catholic Church, he has repeatedly shown that he is a Pope with a difference.

Before him, the feet-washing ritual was performed on 12 men, all Catholic. But within weeks of his 2013 election, he shocked many followers by performing the ritual on women and Muslims at a juvenile detention centre.

Four women and eight men took part in the event on Thursday. The women included an Italian Catholic who works at the centre and three Eritrean Coptic Christian migrants. The men included four Catholics from Nigeria, three Muslims from Mali, Syria and Pakistan and a Hindu man from India.

Pope Francis’ definition of the “people of God” clearly includes everyone.

“All of us, together: Muslims, Hindi, Catholics, Copts, Evangelicals, but brothers, children of the same God,” he said. “We want to live in peace, integrated.”

In June 2013, the Pope stunned his followers and the world at large with his remark, “If someone is gay and searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” We shouldn't marginalise people for this. They must be integrated into society, he said. Just months before then his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI had suggested that gay marriage was a threat to global peace.

The Pope believes that economic inequality is the world’s “No. 1 problem” and that capitalism is at the center of all problems of inequality.

He is no less outspoken on the issue of war and peace. “Jesus is weeping today, too, because we have preferred the path of war, the path of hatred, the path of enmity,” the “commander-in-chief” of 1.2 billion Catholics across the globe said in November 2015 during the Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae where he lives.

Choosing war, he said, is like saying, “‘Let’s make weapons, that way we can balance the budget a bit and move our own interests forward.’ The Lord has strong words for those people: ‘Be cursed!’ He said, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’ Those who decide for war, who make wars, are cursed; they are criminals.”

While arms sellers around the world are getting rich, the Pope said, peacemakers are humbly helping people one at a time.

In September 2015, the pontiff issued an appeal to people of “all religions” to come forward and offer shelter to the refugees from war-ravaged Syria and elsewhere. “May every parish, every religious community, every monastery, every sanctuary of Europe, take in one family,” he said and announced that the Vatican would do its bit by extending help to two families at its parishes.

In February this year, Pope Francis suggested that the Republican aspirant in the American presidential race, Donald Trump was “not a Christian”. The New York Times reported him as stating: “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.” The statement was in response to a reporter who asked him about Mr. Trump on the papal airliner as he returned to Rome after his six-day visit to Mexico.

Good Friday question: Was Jesus really nailed to the cross?

March 25, 2016

Jesus’s crucifixion is probably one of the most familiar images to emerge from Christianity. Good Friday, one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar, marks the event. But what was crucifixion? And why was Jesus killed that way?

Crucifixion was a Roman method of punishment. Suspended from a large cross, a victim would eventually die from asphyxiation or exhaustion – it was long, drawn-out, and painful. It was used to publicly humiliate slaves and criminals (not always to kill them), and as an execution method was usually reserved for individuals of very low status or those whose crime was against the state. This is the reason given in the Gospels for Jesus’s crucifixion: as King of the Jews, Jesus challenged Roman imperial supremacy (Matt 27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38; John 19:19–22).

Crucifixion could be carried out in a number of ways. In Christian tradition, nailing the limbs to the wood of the cross is assumed, with debate centring on whether nails would pierce hands or the more structurally sound wrists. But Romans did not always nail crucifixion victims to their crosses, and instead sometimes tied them in place with rope. In fact, the only archaeological evidence for the practice of nailing crucifixion victims is an ankle bone from the tomb of Jehohanan, a man executed in the first century CE.
So was Jesus nailed to the cross?

Gospel accounts

Some early Gospels, such as the Gospel of Thomas, don’t include the narrative of Jesus’s crucifixion, choosing instead to focus on his teaching. But Jesus’s death by crucifixion is one of the things that all four canonical Gospels agree on. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all include the crucifixion event in their own slightly different ways.

None of the Gospels in the New Testament mentions whether Jesus was nailed or tied to the cross. However, the Gospel of John reports wounds in the risen Jesus’s hands. It is this passage, perhaps, that has led to the overwhelming tradition that Jesus’s hands and feet were nailed to the cross, rather than tied to it.

Caravaggio, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas. Wikimedia Commons

The Gospel of Peter, a non-canonical gospel from the first or second century CE, specifically describes in verse 21 how after Jesus had died, the nails were removed from his hands. The Gospel of Peter also famously includes the cross itself as an active character in the Passion narrative. In verses 41-42 the cross speaks, responding with its own voice to God: “And they were hearing a voice from the heavens saying, ‘Have you made proclamation to the fallen-asleep?’ And an obeisance was heard from the cross, ‘Yes.’” Tradition is clearly of paramount importance to this text.

Over the past few years, several people have claimed to have found the actual nails with which Jesus was crucified. Each time, biblical scholars and archaeologists have rightly pointed out the assumptions and misinterpretations of evidence behind these claims. Curiously, this fixation on the nails persists, despite the fact that the earliest gospels make no mention of Jesus being nailed to the cross.

Depictions of the crucifixion

It isn’t surprising that Christians took a while to embrace the image of Christ on the cross, given that crucifixion was a humiliating way to die. What is surprising is what the earliest image of the crucifixion turns out to be. Rather than the devotional icons with which we are familiar – pictures that glorify Jesus’s death – this earliest image appears to be some late second-century graffiti mocking Christians.

Alexamenos Graffito, Vector traced from Ancient Rome in the Light of Recent Discoveries (1898) by Rodolfo Lanciani Wikimedia Commons

Called the Alexamenos Graffito, the image shows a figure with the head of a donkey on a cross with the words: “Alexamenos worships his God.” This was apparently a common accusation in antiquity, as Minucius Felix(Octavius 9.3; 28.7) and Tertullian (Apology 16.12) both attest. Since the graffito was clearly not made by a Christian, this image suggests that non-Christians were familiar with some core elements of Christian belief as early as the second century.

Gemstones, some used for magical purposes, also provide some of our earliest depictions of the crucified Jesus. This second or third century piece of carved jasper depicts a man on a cross surrounded by magic words.

Magical gem. British Museum CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Another very early image of the crucifixion is found carved into the face of a carnelian gemstone made into a ring.

Constanza gemstone with the crucified Christ, surrounded by 12 apostles. British Musem CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Scholars think that the Constanza gemstone, as it is known, dates from the fourth century CE. In this depiction, Jesus’s hands do not appear to be nailed to the cross, since they fall naturally, as if he is tied at the wrists.

Since the evidence from antiquity doesn’t provide a clear answer as to whether Jesus was nailed or tied to his cross, it’s tradition that dictates this common depiction. Those who have seen the film The Passion of the Christ will recall how much time the director, Mel Gibson, devoted just to the act of nailing Jesus onto the cross —- almost five whole minutes.

The Passion of the Christ.

Given the relative silence on the act of crucifixion in the Gospels, this stands out as a graphic expansion. One of the only films that does not assume that crucifixion involved nails is Monty Python’s Life of Brian, which shows multiple crucifixion victims, though not Jesus, tied to their crosses.

Eventually, Emperor Constantine put an end to crucifixion as a method of execution, not for ethical reasons, but out of respect for Jesus. But in the end, it is the enduring image of the cross, and not the matter of whether nails or ropes were used, that most firmly evokes the death of Jesus in art and tradition.

ICC order: 40 years in prison for former president, Bosnia-Serbia for genocide, war crimes

March 25, 2016

Karadžić in court. EPA/Robin Van Lonkhuijsen
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić has been sentenced to 40 years in prison by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

The court found the former president of the Bosnian Serb republic guilty of one count of genocide and nine war crimes, all relating to the war in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. He is criminally responsible for the Srebrenica massacre in 1995.

This marks the final chapter in three interlinked stories of hubris, war and retribution in Europe at the turn of the millennium.

The first of these stories is a personal journey of an ambitious intellectual – a psychiatrist and a poet who rose from poverty and obscurity to eventually join the political elite. It’s the story of a man who went on to lead a nationalist movement responsible for some of the most heinous crimes seen on the continent since 1945.

Karadžić held political authority over the Bosnian Serb forces that perpetrated the crimes for which he was charged by the ICTY. Ousted from power after the conclusion of the Dayton Peace Agreement, he remained a fugitive until 2008. He was found living on the outskirts of Belgrade disguised as a new-age healer. It’s a tale that could have been taken from a Yugoslav surrealist film.

He will undoubtedly spend the remainder of his life in prison – an apt ending to this extraordinary trajectory.

The intriguing question that remains is how an apparently tolerant and convivial man, who worked and associated with Bosnians of different religious backgrounds and exhibited no particular nationalist leanings prior to 1990, became a ruthless political ideologue who oversaw a policy of mass murder, torture, rape and the forced removal of non-Serb populations for the sake of creating an “ethnically cleansed” Serbian state in Bosnia.

A new kind of justice

The second story is that of the international tribunal itself. Set up by the UN in 1993 to investigate the war crimes that took place in the Balkans in the 1990s, the ICTY has undergone several metamorphoses over its 20-year existence.

The tribunal began as an ineffectual and underfunded institution. It was unable to press Western governments into capturing the more important war criminals. But from 2001 it went on to score some remarkable successes. All its indictees were eventually arrested, including the big fish, such as Serbia’s former president Slobodan Milošević and the Bosnian Serb political and military leaders Karadžić and Ratko Mladić (who is currently on trial).

This success was due largely to new governments coming to power in the post-Yugoslav states and the West’s policy of making financial aid and accession to the EU conditional on co-operation with the tribunal.

A woman visits the memorial to the people who died in the Srebrenrica massacre. EPA/Fehim Demir

The ICTY has provided impressive evidence of the worst crimes committed in the Yugoslav wars. It identified those involved and charted the chains of command. It set some important milestones in international law, paving the way to the creation of a permanent International Criminal Court. Without the ICTY, it is unlikely that some of the worst perpetrators in the Yugoslav wars would have been brought to justice or that we would have such detailed knowledge about the conduct of those wars.

However, the tribunal has been very controversial in the region. It has ultimately made little headway in its mission of contributing to reconciliation.

Nationalist politicians have sought to portray the ICTY as victimising their individual national groups. They present the indictments of their own former political or military leaders as disproportionate and unjust.

The tribunal has remained insular and remote from the region, making little attempt to explain its indictments, procedures and judgements to the war-ravaged and traumatised populations for which it was meant to provide justice.
Often relatively short sentences issued for capital crimes have rankled with victims and some of those tried by the tribunal have now returned home and were welcomed as war heroes.

The acquittals of high ranking military and security figures from Croatia and Serbia in 2012 and 2013 produced consternation even among the greatest champions of the tribunal. Even some ICTY judges publicly protested.

An international journey

The Karadžić judgment (along with those pending for Mladić and a few others) also marks the end of a third story – that of external involvement in the region’s reckoning with its legacy of war.

Karadzic and Milosevic with UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi in 1994. EPA/Srdjan Suki

Without international intervention, there would probably have been little justice. However, the actions of external actors sometimes had counterproductive effects, undermining the reformist political forces seeking genuine change in their countries. And, ultimately, real reckoning with a difficult past cannot be orchestrated from outside.

If the Karadžić judgment is to have any longer-term resonance in the region, it will need to be part of a sustained internal and introspective process in those states where the crimes were perpetrated.

That usually implies the presence of both genuine political commitment and a propitious socio-economic context. Unfortunately, neither of these conditions are on the horizon yet anywhere in the region.

This article was first published by The Conversation.

Bail Refused to HCU Students, Faculty; Dontha Prashanth says false cases must be withdrawn

March 24, 2016

A local court in Hyderabad denied bail to students and faculty of the Hyderabad Central University (HCU) who had been detained by the police after an allegedly brutal assault against peacefully protesting students on the irregular resumption of duties of suspended Vice Chancellor Appa Rao on march 22, 2016. Rao had suddenly returned to campus while a high level inquiry set up by the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) is still on. The public prosecutor (PP) appearing for the state of Telangana has been asked to file a counter affidavit by March 28, 2016.

Sources told Sabrangindia's that Battula Ramprasad who visited students of the University of Hyderabad (UOH) met them in judicial remand at the Charlapally prison today, March 24. Reportedly those detained were taken to six different police stations and badly beaten up. Police officers allegedly used abusive language while beating them. Ramprasad (Mala Sankshema Sangam) who spoke to Dontha Prashanth, close friend and associate of Rohith Vemula has said that Prashanth has made an appeal to all organisations to support the struggle for the withdrawal of false cases against students and faculty and emphasised the need to keep the countrywide struggle alive !

Of the students detained. Dontha Prashant, close friend of Rohith Vemula was also one of the five suspended students belonging to the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) last year. Others who had been suspended in 2015 are Vijeyi, Seshaya and Sundamma.

Sabrangindia has accessed a list of detainees with details of charges against them. This can be read here.

Meanwhile many of the peacefully protesting students have accessed what thy term as a pre-planned agenda by suspended VC Appa Rao to lay siege on the campus. This can be read here.

Nationwide condemnation of the attack has come in. JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar was in Hyderabad on March 23 and 24 and some reports indicated that the ploy to lay siege to the university was intended to prevent his entering the campus. Reports of his visit can be read here.

Faculty Member accuses Appa Rao of bid to shut down HCU

March 23, 2016

UPDATE:

March 25, 2016

Professor Tathagata Sengupta gives an explosive interview the day he was illegally detained on March 22, 2016.

UPDATE:

March 24, 2016:

Late on the evening of March 23, 2016, all students (and two faculty members, KY Ratnam and Tathaghata Sengupta) allegedly unlawfully detained by the Hyderabad police were remanded to judicial custody after being produced in court. A bail application has been moved on March 24, 2016 and is likely to be heard at 5 p.m.. Following the outrage and condemnation of the brutal police attack on the Hyderabad Central University, the mess was finally allowed to operate from the afternoon of Thursday, March 24, over 48 hours after it was shut down reportedly on suspended Vice Chancellor Appa Rao's orders. The Telangana government is under tremendous pressure following this unprecedented attack on students and the Assembly session from March 26, 2016 onwards is likely to be stormy. Police presence at the HCU that resembled a war zone has been considerably reduced today, March 24.

A public protest has been organised against the entry of Apparao Podile as Vice Chancellor, brutal police attack, militarisation of campus and arrest of 27 students and 2 faculty members.This will be followed by a public meeting with the lawyers, narratives of students who were brutally attacked by the police. On the afternoon of March 24, President of the Jawaharlal Nehru Students Union (JNUSU), Kanhaiya Kumar addressed a press conference in Hyderabad where a lone person shouting "Bharat Mata ki Hai" tried to hurl a shoe at him. Yesterday Kumar had tried to visit the HCU campus but had been prevented. he addressed a meeting at the gate.

Sabrangindia has accessed a list of students and faculty detained by the police on March 22, 2016 after a brutal lathi charge. Here is the list with details of what charges have been leveled against them. Dona Prashanth a close friend of Rohith Vemula and other students who were suspended along with him in 2015 have been again targeted by the university authorities and sections of the Telangana police. While the Central government's MHRD headed by Smriti Irani has reportedly denied any knowledge or sanction for the suspended VC Appa Rao's return to the campus, it remains to be seen what action the Modi government takes against him both for the irregular manner of his return –while an MHRD Inquiry was still afoot — and his inviting police on to the campus. This is quite apart from other actions that may be laid at the door of the university authorities: shutting down water and food supplies for students as also internet services that amounted to laying siege on the HCU with its protesting students.

A copy of the entire FIR filed against students and faculty of HCU can be read here.

Yesterday, March 23 in the late evening Radhika Vemula, mother of Rohith Vemula who was not allowed to enter the HCU campus visited one of the students, Uday Bhanu who was badly injured in the police action.

The most graphic video of the Police Lathi Charge at Hyderabad Central Universit, trying to disrupt a Students Protest against VC Appa Rao is available on You Tube. It was telecast on 10TV:

UPDATE:

Late night of March 22, 2016, Sabrangindia had brought its readers this report, HCU Erupts: Plan to attack Unsuspecting protesting Students

As a Follow Up we bring you this Chronology and Eye Witness Accounts

Dr, Karthik Bittu, Faculty fellow at Center for Cognitive Sciences:

"Update from the University of Hyderabad:

Between 21 and 34 students and 2 professors were picked up yesterday, March 22, around 5 pm, brutally beaten in a police van, and detained in unknown locations all night.

We have some information now that they were detained in Miyapur and Narsing police stations; the police blatantly lied to people who went to Miyapur police station that they were not holding any people there.

The CRPF and RAF have beaten hundreds of protesting students badly in campus, abused them as “anti-nationals”. Students were crying and in pain. Women were beaten and grabbed by male police officers.

The phones of several students have been confiscated while they video recorded the brutality. Hostels were searched as police appeared to have a pre-determined list of students and faculty they were trying to pick up, which media have said was a list directly supplied by the VC.

A letter has emerged showing the eerie and detailed coordination between Appa Rao, and sections of faculty, non teaching staff, and ABVP students (This can be read here)
This VC has disrupted the peaceful academic semester with his unannounced and forceful return, and his only actions upon returning are to postpone the Academic Council meeting on account of Holi, suspend classes until the March 26, 2016 (why?), encourage the non-teaching staff to go on strike leading to halting of food supply in the messes.

Drinking water, water for sanitation, and internet are also completely shut down on campus.
Why is the VC intent on shutting down the University and disrupting campus harmony and the academic schedule – that too so close to student's exam time?"

How Events Unfolded at the Hyderabad Central University (HCU) on March 22, 2016

Date: 22-03-2016
Time: 08.40 am
Registrar Office of University of Hyderabad notifies as follows:

Prof.Appa Rao Podile, Vice-Chancellor, resumed the charge in the Forenoon of March 22, 2016”. This was pasted on the website of the University of Hyderabad.

Time: 09.00 am

The news of professor Appa Rao Podile resuming his post of V-C spreads in the social media network and then the student fraternity and JAC starts to convey message to their fellows regarding to protest in front of his place of official residence. There was also message circulated that professor Appa Rao Podile was going to address a Press conference at 11.30 am.

Time: 10.00 am

Internet access at the HCU was stopped. There was no internet access from the servers of University of Hyderabad. Students were not able to connect to internet via the WI-FI and other networks of University of Hyderabad. There was complete “Internet Access” blackout from 10 am onwards. This ‘blackout” continues today.

Time: 10.30 am

The students community and most prominent members of Joint Action Committee for Social Justice –UoH ( JACSJ-UoH) reached in front of the official place of Residence of V-C. Members of JACSJ-UoH. They found out the most of the Non Teaching Staff of the University and ABVP student members were already present in the Bungalow.

The non-teaching staff and ABVP student members blocked the way for the other students and did not allow them to enter. Hence, JACSJ-UoH members were prevented from entering the bungalow and it was students from the RSS/NJP affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidharthi Parishad (ABVP) who allegedly were aggressively at the forefront of things at this stage. This is when the scuffle started. According to sections of the students who have been injured (names being withheld to protect identities), it was some of the students belonging to the ABVP who began ransacking the bungalow and breaking the window panes. Sensing these acts of violence could snowball, the JACSJ-UoH and other students left the Bungalow corridor and then they assembled in the front Lawn garden in the premises of the bungalow of the VC.

As soon as the JACSJ-UoH and other Student left the inside corridor , ABVP student members started sloganeering “ Appa Rao Zindabad , Appa Rao Zindabad” , “ Bharat Mata ki Jai , Bharat Mata ki Jai”.

There were counter slogans to these “ Arrest Appa Rao , Arrest Appa Rao “ , “Justice for Rohith Vemula , Justice for Rohith Vemula” .JACSJ-UoH and other students sat in the lawn and started their “dharna”. The protest was a non-violent peaceful demonstration conducted in a democratic way by raising slogans against the VC Appa Rao.

One of the students members of the ABVP identified in the whole scuffle was Gurajada Garikipati.

Police arrived in the campus. At the same time some media persons also came into the Campus.

JACSJ-UoH and other students were protesting through sit-in dharnas in the lawn of VC Bungalow and slogans were raised to arrest Appa Rao. Meanwhile two students were injured by attacks from by students belonging to the ABVP students and these students were taken to University Health Center.

The protest against suspended VC Appa Rao was on the grounds that since he had been booked under sections of the PoA (Prevention of Atrocities Act) –and an inquiry was still underway under the auspices of the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) – his return to the HCU was nothing short of showing a complete defiance of due process under law.

Meanwhile, the non-teaching staff members complained to the police regarding the ‘forceful’ entry of Students into the premises of the VC’s bungalow. However the narrative of the Private Security Guards differs from this account of the non-teaching staff. The non-teaching staff also complained that JACSJ-UoH assaulted the non teaching Members. During this whole process there was sloganeering of “Arrest Appa Rao, Arrest Appa Rao.”

Time: 12.30 pm
Forces in great numbers were suddenly deployed by the Telangana government. Contingents of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), Andhra Police and more personnel of Telangana Police started to arrive at the spot. A student gives an account that nearly 4 trucks and nearly 400 Police personnel were present. Meanwhile some students were giving their side of the story to some media persons also on the campus.

At just about this time, some prominent police officers of a high rank reportedly had a brief meeting with VC Appa Rao. After his meeting with Appa Rao, the same police officer reportedly met the protesting student representative and asked them to leave the premises However, the students continued their peaceful non-violent protest through sloganeering. At this stage, Appa Rao Podile, sent SC/ST Faculty members to negotiate with the protesting students.

Time: 4.00 pm
It was around this time that the police started what the students felt, was the forceful eviction of the protesting students. At this stage, some of the Faculty Members started to approach the Police protesting the way they were manhandling students but they too were lathi charged and police used the force to disperse them!

Soon, the entire Police Force present started lathi Charging on all the Protesting Students. Female student were manhandled by the male Police Personnel. A female faculty member’s was pulled by the hair ans she was allegedly also molested by the police. Through this assault, many students suffered injuries and they were taken to University Health Center. Some of the students were forcefully detained, dragged into the Police Van and were taken into Custody.

Some of the prominent faculty members like KY Ratnam, Thhataghata Sengupta, and Lakshmi Narayana were also taken into custody. The [police also snatched away the mobile phones that was recording the assault. Women police officers were also present as, it Is alleged were police personnel in plains clothes. There were some examples of institutional bias: for example when the police asked one student his name and he replied, “Ajmal”, police reportedly beat him with a lathi and exclaimed “ You Muslim Terrorist!”

Meanwhile the Registrar of the University declared “Shut down the Mess and close the Water facilities, all this protesting students will come to their senses”

During the forceful eviction and then lathi charges incidents of stone pelting was also noticed. The Police too indulged in the same act of stone pelting on the students. Some students got wounded in this as also police personnel.

Time: 6.00 pm
Dontha Prashanth and 36 students are arrested and taken to Chanda Nagar and Cyberabad Police station.Some students were severely wounded and were Hospitalized.The Faculty members were also wounded in the Police Lathi Charged. Prof K Y Ratnam, Prof Lakshmi Narayana, Prof Thatagata Sengupta were taken to Chanda Nagar and Cyberabad Police Station.

Time: 9.00 pm
Meanwhile the Mess has been shut down and there is threatening of boycotting protesting students by the non-teaching staff. There is still a heavy contingent of Police presence in the Campus. Police Personnel continue to threaten some students that their future will be doomed if they carry out such protests again.

The above chronology has been compiled after telephonic talks with the students present at the University of Hyderabad.Identities of the Student are kept secret due to security concerns.

Unexpected Return of Appa Rao to the Campus while MHRD-level Enquiry is still on:

Interestingly, the authorities have expressed “surprise” at the resumption of duties by the Vice Chancellor.
Periasamy who had assumed charge on January 30 in place of Appa Rao was reportedly not informed of the return of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) appointee, Mr. Rao even on January 21. Just like the rest of the UoH community, Periasamy who was in Kakatiya University, Warangal on official duty was informed of Mr. Rao’s return only on Tuesday morning.

When asked by the Hindu, Periasamy said, “I came to know that Mr. Rao returned to the campus only at 6.45 am. Once he assumes office after leave I don’t have to do any paperwork to step down from the position”.
As per two task sheets on paper found at the Vice Chancellor’s residence, a detailed plan was already underway starting January 21. As per the ‘task sheets’ , only a handful of people would have known of Mr. Rao’s return to UoH two months after he went on leave.

Among those who would have been informed of the entry are Dean of Students Welfare, Prakash Babu, former in-charge VC and senior professors of University of Hyderabad, Vipin Srivastava and Alok Pandey. In the document titled ‘Tasks for Appa Rao’, it was mentioned that starting March 21 night, the VC who had gone on leave following the suicide of Rohith Vemula. (A copy of the “Circular Plan can be read here—hyperlink please)

The second task sheet (also unsigned) meant for office bearers and faculty members of UoH, also details a plan to aid Appa Rao in assuming office smoothly. . “If he continues in office, at least a 100 research scholars will resign from their respective PhDs and M.Phils. The JAC will take the formal decision late on Monday,” said D. Prashanth, a student leader. ““If Appa Rao continues in office, at least a 100 research scholars will discontinue their PhD and M.Phil programmes:D. Prashanth, student leader

Some Student Narratives

Male Student:
“The case is in court. Everybody knows that he is the main one accused of Rohiths death. Two months have passed and without informing the authorities, he simply resumes charge, gives notice and even calls for an Executive Council meeting along with some students, Professors and Deans.
How can the Vice Chancellor, suspended because of an ongoing high level inquiry selectively call in some students inside the VC’s bungalow? How can he selectively hold an EX meeting? Does the meeting have any validity?

"The suspended VC is misuing the services of some students of the life sciences and those affiliated to the ABVP. All we did was conduct a peaceful protest. And this is what is happening?! We are going to stop the Academic Council meeting scheduled for tomorrow.

Woman Student:
“The University cut off our internet facilities from the forenoon. There’s no drinking water available in mess, no dining hall opened anymore and internet blackout too. This is going really well VC. You have got us starved, thirsty and alienated from reaching out to outside world! Around 30 students are arrested (we are yet to confirm the numbers even) and 3 faculty members are taken into custody along with them. Students say police were shouting ‘Muslims are terrorists’ while beating up students.

In some sections of the media who were not present, reports of ‘vandalism by protesters’ were carried but these sections of the media did not find the time to cover the lathi-wielding violent acts of the police! We condemn the malicious lie spread by media that protesters vandalized VC’s lodge. It was the ABVP which barricaded VC’s lodge from rest of the students with furniture and created unnecessary tensions shouting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ at us while protecting a man like Appa Rao Podile. They were the ones who actually vandalised the place. Police did stop students who were filming their brutality, beat them up and even broke cameras. A police man in mufti was shouting rape threats at female students all the while beating them up. Is this what students will now have to face ?”

“Male police brutally grabbed, molested, tossed and beat female students and faculties alike. Female faculties were grabbed by their hair and dragged into vans. Male students were swept inside the van and were beaten without mercy. When I ran after them questioning that, police harassed me. They asked where I am from and when I told them its none of their business, they made a pass on my skin tone and threatened to teach me how to behave and tried to chase me away. They were doing the same to other students. They were rounding up stranded students and started chasing them beating. Many of us are in health center and some are moved outside. Three van-full of students are arrested by now.

Shame on you VC for facilitating this violence against your own students!

“We got hold of the ‘action plan’ email that was sent out to faculties regarding ‘smuggling’ the killer VC back inside university of Hyderabad without letting its students know. What a shameful story! This is so shameful that it is actually sounding funny! We are sitting at VC’s lodge lawns, while Prashant reads out VC’s press release which is another joke! (It will be uploaded soon in JAC’s page) We condemn the ridiculous statements he made in the press release. In between, for demanding to arrest the VC, who we believe is responsible for the institutional murder of Rohith Vemula with regard to the case filed against him, police call us immature! They do not even have the wisdom to understand what we are demanding is as per the constitution of India and the constitution of university of Hyderabad which Appa Rao Podile is actually violating .

Police Go Back!

"This university was functioning almost normally till the killer has returned! He is back only to disrupt the academic activities of the entire campus now! We want the man accused of the institutional murder of Rohith Vemula out of the campus! We know he will try to avenge whoever protested against him and will try to destroy evidence.

Police are planning to move us from here meanwhile. We remain here still even if it means we remain without food or sleep!”

“The non teaching staff has decided to play along with the suspended VC. They have declared they are striking against students. All the messes in UoH are closed now. We are all here. Professors started joining us. Heavy police force deployed all over. They might lathi charge any moment. Since we believe in Constitution, we appeal the police to arrest a man charged with offences under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Atrocities Act. The Library is also closed. We are going to strike till he is arrested!

(Identities of the Student are kept secret due to security concerns.)

Student's narrative of police brutality in University of Hyderabad

Appa Rao return bid to thwart Kanhaiya Kumar at HCU?

March 23, 2016

Was suspended Vice Chancellor Appa Rao’s surreptitious and sudden return to the Hyderabad Central University Campus (HCU) in any way linked to the plan of Jawaharlal Nehru Union Students Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar’s planned two day visit to Andhra Pradesh?

This is a question that is on everyone’s lips even as a circular was circulated today by Appa Rao to prevent any ‘outsiders’, ‘political party’ student union representatives or even media persons from entering the HCU campus. Sabrangindia has learnt that Kanhaiya Kumar will hold a meeting with Radhika Vemula, the mother of Rohith Vemula today after which he is also scheduled to address the media at Vijaywada. A professor from the JNU is travelling with him.

The Students Union of the Hyderabad Central University has today issued a strong statement against the atrocities of the Telangana police. The statement can be read here.

Meanwhile late last might, JNU had protest meetings against the police repression at Hyderabad

JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar Speaking at Effigy Burning of ABVP and VC of HCU on March 22

JNUSU Gen. Sec. Rama Naga Speaking at Effigy Burning of ABVP and VC of HCU today

#StandWithHCU #StandWithJNU JNU Facbook Post : stands firmly in solidarity with HCU. We are one in cause and we strongly condemn the police action on students. Spoke to the students at HCU. There has been a brutal police lathi-charge on campus. Students have been thrashed, manhandled (including women) and detained. Several students have sustained injuries on their head. We demand the immediate removal of VC, Appa Rao. Smriti Irani and Dattatreya should go, as they have no moral authority to continue as ministers. I think it's time for Smriti Irani to hear from us again.
Let's gear up, comrades for another show of solidarity with HCU, outside the MHRD tomorrow at 2 p.m. For JNU, Assemble at Ganga Dhaba at 1 p.m.

Here is the NDTV video of the attack. https://www.facebook.com/satyendra.satyarthi.7/videos/1059936854069978/

Manwhile, the polit bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has condemn the police assault in HCU. The statement reads, “The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly condemns the brutal police attack on students, faculty members and others in the Hyderabad Central University yesterday. The police resorted to very intense lathicharge on the students who were protesting against the return of Vice Chancellor Appa Rao, who is facing criminal cases for creating circumstances leading to the tragic suicide of Rohith Vemula. Male police personnel assaulted girl students using foul language.

It is reported that the university has been sealed, food supplies stopped for hostels, water connections cut off and access to wifi denied. Also wide spread disciplinary action against the students and some faculty members is also underway.

Instead of proceeding on the registered cases against the Vice Chancellor, the Telangana Police has resorted to such brutality against the students. This is an affront to the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right of organising protests against the patent injustice promoted by this newly appointed Vice Chancellor.

Over thirty students are in police custody and there is no knowledge as to where they are being kept. The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) demands that the students illegally detained must be released immediately. The Central Government appointed Vice Chancellor should be removed forthwith. The Telangana Police must proceed on the registered cases against him.

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UoH Alumni Open Letter against the institutional murder of Rohith Vemula, the return of Dr. Appa Rao as UoH’s VC, and the brutal display of state violence in campus.

Suspended VC barged in to disrupt university’s progress towards normalcy

‘We are brothers’: Pope washes feet of refugees during Holy Thursday Mass

Good Friday question: Was Jesus really nailed to the cross?

Jesus’s crucifixion is probably one of the most familiar images to emerge from Christianity. Good Friday, one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar, marks the event. But what was crucifixion? And why was Jesus killed that way?

Gospel accounts

Depictions of the crucifixion

ICC order: 40 years in prison for former president, Bosnia-Serbia for genocide, war crimes

Karadžić in court. EPA/Robin Van Lonkhuijsen
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić has been sentenced to 40 years in prison by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

A new kind of justice

An international journey

Bail Refused to HCU Students, Faculty; Dontha Prashanth says false cases must be withdrawn

Faculty Member accuses Appa Rao of bid to shut down HCU

Student's narrative of police brutality in University of Hyderabad

Appa Rao return bid to thwart Kanhaiya Kumar at HCU?

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Jesus’s crucifixion is probably one of the most familiar images to emerge from Christianity. Good Friday, one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar, marks the event. But what was crucifixion? And why was Jesus killed that way?

Gospel accounts

Depictions of the crucifixion

Karadžić in court. EPA/Robin Van LonkhuijsenFormer Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić has been sentenced to 40 years in prison by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

A new kind of justice

An international journey

Student's narrative of police brutality in University of Hyderabad

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Karadžić in court. EPA/Robin Van Lonkhuijsen
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić has been sentenced to 40 years in prison by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).