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#StandwithJNU: Solidarity Statement from the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice at the University of British Columbia

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We, graduate students and faculty at the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice and the broader University of British Columbia community stand in absolute and resounding support of the students, faculty, staff and allies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). We condemn the political and legal clout being exercised by the Indian government in Kanhaiya Kumar’s arrest and subsequent reaction to protests. Not only is Kanhaiya’s arrest erroneous and suspect to begin with, the consequent unraveling of systematic hatred towards these “anti-national” scholars creates an environment where anyone perceived to be against ‘Hindu’-hence-Indian culture is at risk of personal harm meted out by the State.

It is deeply disturbing to note public debate around this on mainstream Indian media and TV news channels. The contention is that universities should not be spaces of political engagement, but of quiet scholarly repose.  As students and researchers committed to the principles of transnational social justice, it is distressing to note this attempt to depoliticize the university space by dismissing students as undeserving of their spot for being actively engaged in the future of their country.

To term universities and institutions that foster alternative spaces of being and thinking ‘anti-national’ is commandeering an invective that is untrue and wholly vicious.  Moreover, the violence meted out to Kanhaiya as well as journalists at Patiala Court is horrifying, especially noting Delhi police’s inaction and complicity in this, despite tight presence. It is precisely this sort of unprovoked violence by the State apparatus that is undemocratic. It is baffling to note the Delhi police’s apparent inability to track down the people who attacked Kanhaiya, while at the same time it launches a now country-wide witch hunt for another JNU student leader Umar Khalid (who allegedly organized the protest in question), based on completely false Islamophobic allegations.

We believe that universities are sites of active engagement, and using an old colonial remnant that is the sedition charge betrays intent to suppress the voice of a democracy. To hold debates and discussions is not anti-national, even more so when there is overwhelming testimony that Kanhaiya Kumar was not involved in the particular sloganeering for which he was arrested. An active and thriving student body presence is what makes JNU one of Asia’s premiere institutions. It is deeply disappointing to note the efforts by the current government to clamp down on this. It is with rising alarm that we register the chain of events that connect other established institutions like the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and the University of Hyderabad (UoH).

These threats to academic freedom and the right to dissent are not contained to national borders. They affect us all globally. In JNU we see ourselves. To our fellow students, faculty and staff at JNU: we commend you for your courage in this struggle. India stands at a pivotal moment right now. May we never tire of fighting the good fight. We #StandwithJNU.
February 19, 2016.
In solidarity,

  • Shruti Buddhavarapu, Graduate Student, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice
  • Noal Amir, Graduate Student, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice
  • Kristi Carey, Graduate Student, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice
  • Iman Baobeid, Graduate Student, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice
  • Dina Al-Kassim, Associate Professor, English Department and Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice
  • Renisa Mawani, Associate Professor, Sociology
  • Jen Sung, Communications staff, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice
  • Sanjeev Routray, Sessional Lecturer, Department of Sociology
  • Prajna Rao, PhD student, School of Community and Regional planning
  • Leah Grantham, Graduate Student, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice
  • Thomas Kemple, Professor, Sociology
  • Magnolia Pauker, Graduate Student, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice
  • Tanvi Sirari, Graduate Student, Sociology
  • Sara Shneiderman, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology and Institute of Asian Research
  • Madeleine Reddon, Graduate Student, English Department
  • Sunera Thobani, Associate Professor, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice
  • Janice Stewart, Senior Instructor, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice
  • John Paul Catungal, Instructor I, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice
  • Rima Wilkes, Professor, Sociology
  • Victoria James, Graduate Student, SLAIS
  • Conor Wilkinson, Graduate Student, History
  • Sydnie Koch, Graduate Student, Civil Engineering
  • Mark Adams, Graduate Student, Electrical Engineering
  • Sampath Satti, Graduate Student, Biomedical Engineering
  • Hanna Dahlström, Graduate Student, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice
  • Denise Ferreira da Silva, Associate Professor, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice
  • J. Lowik, Graduate Student, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice

#StandWithJNU: Solidarity Statement by Academics in the UK

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This is a statement by over three hundred and fifty academics based in the UK.

We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with the students, faculty, and staff of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). We condemn the BJP government-sanctioned police action in the JNU campus and the illegal detention of the JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar. We strongly condemn the manner in which political dissent is being stifled, reducing academic spaces to fortresses. We also condemn the widespread witch-hunt of left-wing students and student groups that this police action has unleashed.

These recent acts are representative of the larger trend that we have been observing – the imposition of an authoritarian and regressive agenda in institutions of higher learning from Films and Television Institute [FTII], Hyderabad Central University [HCU] to Jawaharlal Nehru University [JNU]. From the institutional murder of HCU student, Rohith Vemula, and the suppression of student protests at FTII to the illegal detention of the student union leader Kanhaiya Kumar and pervasive police presence at JNU, there has been a constant non- observance and disregard of administrative and legal norms as well as a gross infringement of the democratic rights of the student community. These actions are embedded in a deeply chauvinistic cultural nationalism, which espouses a casteist and Brahmanical, homophobic, and patriarchal worldview.

We strongly believe that student politics is being targeted currently by giving a new lease of life to a sedition law that was a draconian tool in the hands of the colonial state and has no place in a democracy. It is our democratic right to dissent, disagree, organise and struggle against state, institutions or policies that transgress and suppress democratic and egalitarian values. Expression of dissent cannot and should not be equated with being ‘anti-national’ (or any other such constructed category) and is definitely not punishable under law especially if it is non-violent.

Disguising targeted assault on oppositional student groups/political movements within the narrative binaries of nationalism/anti nationalism only reflects how vulnerable the BJP government feels in its own ability to provide accountable governance.

We also believe that institutions of higher learning should be publicly funded spaces for political engagement, debates, and critical discussions – a legacy campuses (be it JNU, DU, or FTII) have embodied. As they always have, university spaces should subsidise costs of education for students, irrespective of the political disposition of the students. A rather disturbing feature of the narratives around this issue has been the construction and furthering of an artificial dichotomy between academics and politics that suggests that being ‘political’ is an aberration. This would certainly appear to be the case, if seen through the neoliberal lens of perceiving education as an industry that produces ‘semester bred’ automated ‘disciplined’ individuals who are mere consumers.

However, as the nonviolent expressions of dissent by students in JNU clearly demonstrate, contrary to this neo liberal view of academia,we believe that ‘personal is political’ and there is no sphere that is devoid of politics.We believe that good academic work necessarily involves a critical engagement with society and its power inequities and in that sense is always politically engaged. This engagement thrives in the democratic space of the university where many dissenting views can be heard and debated. The vilification of JNU as a space of ‘anti-national’ politics is being carried out by ABVP and BJP in order to attack and break this democratic spirit of academic and political life in Indian universities.

As teachers, students, scholars, and academics from the UK, who are keenly observing the developments unfolding in JNU, we express our solidarity with the students, faculty and staff of JNU as they non-violently resist this infringement on their rights. We urge the Vice Chancellor of JNU to uphold the institutional autonomy and the democratic rights of the student community. We also urge the government of India to stop encroaching on our rights as citizens, students, activists, political and politicised subjects.
 

  1. Akanksha Mehta, SOAS, University of London
  2. Priyanka Basu, SOAS, London
  3. Neha Vermani (JNU, 2013), Royal Holloway college, University of London
  4. Partha Pratim Shil, PhD student, Trinity College, University of Cambridge
  5. Niyati Sharma, University of Oxford
  6. Benarji Chakka, Chevening Scholar, SOAS, UoL
  7. Javed Wani, Department of History, Royal Holloway, University of London
  8. Chacko, University of London.
  9. Jay Lingham, SOAS, University of London
  10. Anjali B Datta, University of Cambridge
  11. Shinjini Das, University of Cambridge
  12. Jaice Sara Titus, Brunel University London
  13. William Rees, SOAS, (2015)
  14. Alex Wolfers PhD Researcher at Cambridge University
  15. Aditya Balasubramanian, University of Cambridge
  16. Mayur Suresh,
  17. Lipika Kamra, University of Oxford
  18. Sneha Krishnan, University of Oxford
  19. Prashant Kidambi, University of Leicester
  20. James Eastwoos (SOAS, University of London)
  21. Rohan Deb Roy, Lecturer in South Asian History, University of Reading
  22. Prerna Bhardwaj, King’s College London
  23. Tristan Burke (University of Manchester)
  24. Surabhi Ranganathan, University of Cambridge
  25. Sanya Samtani, University of Oxford
  26. Baisali Mohanty, Post-graduate candidate, contemporary south asian studies, University of Oxford
  27. Prithvi Hirani, Aberystwyth University
  28. Dr Lorenza Monaco, SOAS, University of London
  29. Suman Ghosh, Bath Spa University
  30. Nayanika Mathur, University of Cambridge
  31. Marie-France Courriol,UniversityofCambridge
  32. Jayesha Koushik, University of Oxford
  33. Aditya Ramesh, SOAS
  34. Umika Pidaparthy, University of Oxford
  35. Sruthi Muraleedharan, SOAS, University of London
  36. JD Brown, SOAS, London
  37. Sudarshana Srinivasan, King’s College London
  38. Wiktor Ostasz (University of Oxford)
  39. T Khaitan, University of Oxford
  40. Erica Wald, Goldsmiths, University of London
  41. Deepa Kurup, Oxford University
  42. Sanjoy Bhattacharya, University of York, UK
  43. Thomas Marois, SOAS, University of London
  44. Saba Hussain, University of Warwick
  45. FeyziIsmail,SOAS
  46. Joe Buckley, PhD candidate, SOAS, University of London
  47. Sandipto Dasgupta, Newton International Fellow of the Royal Society and the British Academy
  48. Annabelle Sreberny, Emeritus Professor, SOAS, University of London
  49. Sahil Warsi, University of Leeds
  50. Subir Sinha, Department of Development Studies, SOAS
  51. Sabiha Allouche, Centre for Gender Studies, SOAS, University of London
  52. Abhay Regulagedda – MIPLC
  53. Jaimie Johansson, University of East Anglia
  54. Shabnum Tejani, Senior Lecturer in Modern South Asian History, Department of History, SOAS, University of London
  55. Dr Kerem Nisancioglu, SOAS University of London
  56. Alfredo Saad Filho, SOAS University of London
  57. Arijeet Pal, University of Oxford
  58. Elisabeth Leake, Royal Holloway, University of London
  59. Musab Younis, Oxford University and SOAS
  60. Smitana Saikia King’s College London
  61. Dr Rahul S Gandhi BSc (Neuroscience) MBCHB, Member – Royal Australasian College of Physicians
  62. Sara Stevano, SOAS University of London
  63. Rachel Harrison, SOAS
  64. Jonathan Daniel Luther (SOAS)
  65. Abeera Khan, MA Gender Studies, SOAS
  66. Alexandra Tzirkoti, King’s College London
  67. Aditya Sarkar, Warwick University
  68. Teja Varma Pusapati, Phil Student in English, University of Oxford
  69. Secki Jose, PhD candidate, University of Leicester
  70. Shreya Sinha, SOAS, University of London
  71. Ashok Kumar, Queen Mary University of London
  72. Steven Martin, University of Cambridge
  73. Dr Helen Elsey, University of Leeds
  74. Dr Mandy Turner, Middle East Centre, LSE
  75. Zarah Sultana, NUS Black Students’ Campaign
  76. Nicholas Simcik Arese, University of Oxford
  77. DrAravindaGuntupalli,SeniorLecturerinPublicHealth,TheOpenUniversity,
  78. Milton Keynes, UK
  79. Lisa Tilley, University of Warwick
  80. Uttara Shahani, PhD Candidate, University of Cambridge
  81. Nadje Al-Ali SOAS
  82. Saumya Saxena, University of Cambridge
  83. Diya Gupta, Department of English, King’s College London
  84. John Wood Aberystwyth University
  85. Dimitra Kotouza, University of Kent
  86. Nilanjana Sen Graduate Student King’s College London
  87. Gerhard Kling, SOAS University of London
  88. Akhila Yechury, University of Andrews
  89. Professor Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, SOAS, University of London
  90. Rudra Sen (SOAS)
  91. Cam Stocks, Medical Student, Barts and The London School of Medicine
  92. Manjeet Ramgotra, SOAS University of London
  93. Juanita Elias, University of Warwick
  94. Sarah Gandee, University of Leeds
  95. Roy, SOAS
  96. Dr Richard Williams, University of Oxford
  97. Tom Cowan, King’s College London
  98. Layli Uddin, Royal Holloway
  99. Dr Sarah Hodges, History, University of Warwick
  100. Emma Hart, University of St Andrews
  101. Meenakshi Sinha, King’s India Institute, King’s College London
  102. Antonio Ferraz de Oliveira – University of Warwick
  103. Eve Tignol (Royal Holloway University of London)
  104. Ashwitha Jayakumar, MA student, University of Leeds
  105. Alastair McClure, PhD Student at the University of Cambridge
  106. Amir Khan – University of Cambridge
  107. Javier Moreno Zacarés, Warwick University
  108. Professor Stephen Hopgood, SOAS University of London
  109. Jordan Osserman, UCL
  110. Josh Holroyd, Socialist Appeal
  111. Ina Goel, Gender and Sexuality Studies, University College London
  112. Julian Benda, SOAS
  113. Ola Innset, European University Institute
  114. Nicole Beardsworth, University of Warwick
  115. Fatima Rajina, SOAS
  116. Karthikeyan Damodaran, University of Edinburgh
  117. Vanya V Bhargav, University of Oxford
  118. Meghna Nag Chowdhuri, University of Cambridge
  119. Ranjita Neogi, University of Reading
  120. Aparna John, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex
  121. Omar Raii, UCL
  122. Ashna Sarkar – UCL
  123. Garikoitz Gómez Alfaro, University of Brighton
  124. Tom Cunliffe, KCL
  125. Mihika Chatterjee, University of Oxford
  126. Kavita Maya (SOAS, University of London)
  127. Niharika Pandit, master’s candidate, SOAS
  128. Jonathan Saha, University of Leeds
  129. Farooq Graduate Teaching Asst. SOAS, London
  130. Shreya Agrawal, Student at UCL
  131. Malia Bouattia, NUS Black Students’ Officer (UK)
  132. Amogha Varsha (University of Oxford, UK)
  133. Amelia Bonea, University of Oxford
  134. Avinash Paliwal, King’s College London
  135. Amrita Shodhan, SOAS, University of London
  136. Jacob Bard-Rosenberg, Birkbeck College, University of London
  137. Laurence Gautier, University of Cambridge
  138. Smriti Sawkar, University of Oxford
  139. Arianna Tassinari (University of Warwick)
  140. Anindya Raychaudhuri, University of St Andrews
  141. Onaiza Drabu, University of Oxford
  142. Mipsie Marshall University of Sussex
  143. Amit Kumar, DPhil Chemistry, University of Oxford
  144. Ishan Mukherjee, University of Cambridge
  145. Urmimala Maitra, University of Oxford
  146. Sahil Nijhawan (Student, University College London)
  147. James Lecturer in Islamicate South Asia, SOAS, University of London
  148. Anirudh Mathur, Student, Inner Temple
  149. Maia Barkaia, (JNU, 2010),Research Fellow, LMH, Oxford University
  150. Sheiry Dhillon, DPhil OB/GYN (C) MD (C)
  151. Jacob George Pallath, GDL student at University of Westminster
  152. Sadie Coventry University
  153. Dr Nicholas Cimini, Lecturer and EIS-ULA Exec member at Edinburgh Napier University
  154. Leandro Vergara-Camus, SOAS, University of London
  155. Chandak Sengoopta, Professor of History, Birkbeck College, University of London
  156. Ozan Kamiloglu, Associate Lecturer, University of London, Birkbeck
  157. Selbi Jumayeva, Visiting Research Fellow, IGS at LMH University of Oxford
  158. Somak Biswas, University of Warwick
  159. Divya David, University of Oxford
  160. Mihika Chatterjee, University of Oxford
  161. Mishka Sinha, University of Cambridge, UK
  162. Emile Chabal, University of Edinburgh
  163. Radhika Govinda, University of Edinburgh
  164. Varun Ramesh – University of Oxford
  165. Nat Raha, University of Sussex
  166. David Dahlborn, UCL
  167. Lesley Hoggart, The Open University, UK
  168. Chinmay Sharma SOAS
  169. Sahil Kureshi, University of Oxford
  170. Leshu Torchin, University of St Andrews
  171. Ameya Kelkar-SOAS, London
  172. Ankita Pandey, Phil candidate, University of Oxford
  173. Sinthujan Varatharajah, UCL Geography
  174. Maanasa SOAS
  175. Dr Ghazala Mir, University of Leeds
  176. Deepa Kurup, University of Oxford
  177. Secki P Jose, University of Leicester
  178. Rashmi Varma, University of Warwick
  179. Sneha Menon, University of Oxford
  180. Yasser Shams Khan, University of Oxford
  181. Harry Stopes, University College London
  182. Nithya Natarajan, SOAS
  183. Dr Marika Rose, Durham University
  184. Mansi Sood, Student, University of Oxford, 2015-16
  185. Mukulika Banerjee, Director of LSE South Asia Centre and Associate Professor of Anthropology, LSE
  186. Fatima Shahzad, Postgraduate Student, SOAS, University of London
  187. Rodrigo Torres, UCL
  188. Kanika Sharma, Birkbeck, University of London
  189. Paavani Singh – King’s College London
  190. Mallika Leuzinger, University College London
  191. Kashish Madan, A. English Literary Studies, Durham University
  192. Grace Egan, University of Glasgow
  193. Joseph McQuade, University of Cambridge
  194. Amrita Lamba, SOAS
  195. Sarah Kunz – PhD student, UCL
  196. Shamim Zakaria, University of Sussex
  197. Rubina Jasani, University of Manchester
  198. Moiz Tundawala, PhD candidate, London School of Economics and Political
  199. Aditya Ray, Queen Mary University of London
  200. Rahul Rao, SOAS, University of London
  201. Dr Lee Jones, Queen Mary University of London
  202. Manish Kushwaha, University of Warwick
  203. Kalpana Wilson, London School of Economics and Political Science
  204. Daniela Lainez del Pozo – University College London
  205. Praveen Priyadarshi, PhD Candidate, London School of Economics
  206. Anju Christine, King’s College London
  207. Amogha Varsha (University of Oxford)
  208. Ashutosh Kumar, University of Leeds, UK
  209. neha kagal, Doctoral Scholar, SOAS
  210. Dr Hannah Boast, University of York
  211. Phiroze Vasunia, University College London
  212. Saawani Raje, King’s College London
  213. Sanghita Sen, University of Andrews. Scotland
  214. Dr Rohit K Dasgupta (WSA), University of Southampton
  215. Utsa Mukherjee, Royal Holloway
  216. Senjuti Chakraborti, Birkbeck College, University of London
  217. Aakshi Magazine, University Of St Andrews
  218. Souraj Dutta, Research student, University of St Andrews, Scotland
  219. Megan Robb, University of Oxford
  220. Andrew Kinnell, President of Stirling Students Union
  221. Grant Buttars, University of Edinburgh
  222. Johannes Makar, student at SOAS and KU Leuven
  223. Dr Anandi Ramamurthy, Sheffield Hallam University
  224. Anish Vanaik, Purdue University (Oxford, 2013)
  225. Akshyeta Suryanarayan, University of Cambridge
  226. Eleanor Newbigin, SOAS, University of London
  227. Rubina Jasani, University of Manchester
  228. Siddharth Chawla, Cambridge University
  229. Dimble Mathew University of Bradford
  230. Kshiti Gala, SOAS, University of London
  231. Bjorn Berntson, University College London
  232. Sreenanti Banerjee, Birkbeck, University of London
  233. Pori Saikia University of Essex
  234. James Harland (Department of History, University of York)
  235. Kanwar Nain Singh, University of Cambridge
  236. Ayça Çubukçu, Assistant Professor in Human Rights, London School of Economics and Political Science
  237. Dr Satoshi Miyamura, SOAS, University of London
  238. Kyle Jordan (UCL)
  239. Gautam Bondada, Phil student, University of Oxford
  240. Tom Robinson, UCLU Welfare & International Officer
  241. Ettore Morelli, School of Oriental and African Studies
  242. Dr Jayasree Kalathil, Survivor Research, UK
  243. Tvisha Nevatia, LSE
  244. Karin Sjöstedt, SOAS
  245. Joya Chatterji, University of Cambridge
  246. Dr Peter Dwyer, Ruskin College, Oxford
  247. Dr Chris Rossdale, University of Warwick
  248. Rama Dieng, SOAS
  249. Anish Augustine, Queen Mary, University of London
  250. Sofa Gradin, Queen Mary University of London
  251. Nandini Maharaj, Sheffield Hallam University
  252. Shivangi Pareek, University of Cambridge
  253. Shubranshu Mishra, University of Kent
  254. Ritanjan Das, University of Portsmouth
  255. Ananya Rao-Middleton, University of Cambridge
  256. Ganga Shreedhar, London School of Economics
  257. Swapna Kona Nayudu, LSE
  258. Elizabeth Frazer, Head of Department, Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford
  259. Dr William McEvoy, University of Sussex, UK
  260. William Gould, University of Leeds
  261. Marta Garcia Aliaga (SOAS, University of London, and NALSAR)
  262. Ayse Zarakol, University of Cambridge
  263. Prof Gurminder K Bhambra, University of Warwick
  264. Lisa Skwirblies, D. Candidate (University of Warwick)
  265. Louiza Odysseos, University of Sussex
  266. Alex Anievas, University of Cambridge
  267. Dr Meera Sabaratnam, SOAS
  268. Kirsten Forkert, School of Media, Birmingham City University
  269. Eda Ulus, University of Leicester
  270. Premalatha Balan, University of Nottingham and University College, London
  271. Adelie Chevee, SOAS, University of London
  272. Manishita Dass, Royal Holloway (University of London)
  273. Rosalind Galt, King’s College London
  274. Priyasha Mukhopadhyay, Oxford
  275. Rod Earle, Dept of Health & Social Care, The Open University
  276. Caoimhe Mader McGuinness, Queen Mary University of London
  277. Julie Dayot University of Oxford
  278. Sai Englert, PhD candidate, SOAS, University of London
  279. Sonali Campion, London School of Economics
  280. Dr Cathy Bergin, University of Brighton
  281. Aditya, University of Oxford
  282. Akshi Singh, Queen Mary, University of London
  283. Karan Katoch, University of Oxford
  284. Raghav Kishore, University of Huddersfield
  285. Dr Tanvi Pate, PAIS, University of Warwick
  286. Dr Bhabani Shankar Nayak, University of Salford, UK
  287. Konrad M Lawson (Lecturer St Andrews)
  288. Professor Emilia Jamroziak, University of Leeds
  289. Anwesha Sengupta, University of Oxford
  290. Andy Rixon The Open University UK
  291. Natalie James, UCLU
  292. Mirna Guha, PhD School of International Development, University of East Anglia
  293. Sita Balani King’s College London
  294. Steffan Blayney, Birkbeck, University of London
  295. Mehroosh Tak, SOAS
  296. Tanya Singh, University of Wolverhampton
  297. Kathryn Maude, Swansea University
  298. Hilary Aked, University of Bath
  299. S.V.P. Capildeo, Affiliate, St. John’s College, University of Cambridge
  300. Katy Sian, University of York
  301. S Lidher (Cambridge)
  302. Paul Kirby, University of Sussex
  303. Gayathri Sekhar, King’s College London
  304. Marijn Nieuwenhuis, Politics and Int. Studies, University of Warwick
  305. Lorena Lombardozzi (SOAS)
  306. Alen Toplisek, Queen Mary University of London
  307. Owen Clayton, University of Lincoln, UK
  308. Dr Terese Jonsson, University of Portsmuth
  309. Alexandra Sporidou Nottingham Trend University
  310. Professor Azrini Wahidin, Nottingham Trent University
  311. Janhavi Mittal, King’s College London
  312. Špela Drnovšek Zorko, SOAS, London
  313. Aapurv Jain, SOAS, University of London
  314. Noelle Richardson
  315. Vicki Baars
  316. Abhilasha Joshi, DPhil Neuroscience
  317. Fuad Ali, OtherAsias
  318. Miqdad
  319. Zara Kayani
  320. Jack Bardsley
  321. Joel White
  322. Pallavi Roy
  323. Vinayak Raj Gathoria
  324. Suchitra Sebastian
  325. Shariq
  326. Debanjali Biswas
  327. Umer Malik
  328. sabahat ijaz
  329. Sharon Mallon
  330. Arushi Menon
  331. Kaushik Banerjee
  332. Saumya Singh
  333. Sophie Mayer (independent scholar)
  334. Zara Qadeer
  335. Darshana Gurung
  336. Sahiba student masters
  337. Nihad Ahmed
  338. Nasir Arafat
  339. Shreya Chatterjee
  340. Edyth Parker
  341. Sinjini Chatterjee, student
  342. Daniel Ong
  343. Sunny Singh
  344. Ritika Bose
  345. Sanaz Raji, Independent Research & Campaigner
  346. Sameen Ali
  347. Shruti Sekhar Ravindran
  348. Shamira Meghani — scholar and teacher
  349. Leon Sealey-Huggins
  350. Neeharika Shetty
  351. Abhishikta Mallick
  352. Lakshmy Venkatesh
  353. Owen Clayton, University of Lincoln, UK
  354. Dr Terese Jonsson, University of Portsmuth
  355. Alexandra Sporidou Nottingham Trend University
  356. Professor Azrini Wahidin, Nottingham Trent University
  357. Janhavi Mittal, King’s College London
  358. Špela Drnovšek Zorko, SOAS
  359. Aapurv Jain, SOAS, University of London
  360. Laura Schwartz, University of Warwick
  361. Deepa Kurup, University of Oxford
  362. Gopal Balakrishnan
  363. Arwa Awan, Visiting Undergrad, University of Oxford
  364. Matthew Cole, University of Leeds
  365. Nikita S.
  366. Mohamed Hussain

Solidarity Statement for JNU by IIT Scholars

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This is a statement issued by the undersigned, scholars of Departments of Humanities and Social Sciences of IITs across the country.

We, the undersigned, scholars of Departments of Humanities and Social Sciences of IITs across the country, condemn the police action in JNU and the arrest of the JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar on the charge of sedition. We also denounce the repeated acts of violence unleashed by some lawyers and others at the Patiala House Court against faculty, students and the media, as well as police inaction regarding the same.

In addition, we appeal for media and public trials to cease and for civil society to instead focus on debating issues in an amicable and reasonable manner, without slandering JNU or questioning the academic integrity or patriotic fervour of JNU and its supporters. We criticise the general atmosphere of fear and intimidation that is being created to target the entire university. Given the fast polarizing political atmosphere in the country, we appeal to the media organisations to display greater responsibility and conduct television debates in such a manner that no prejudicial public opinion is created while there is an ongoing enquiry into the entire episode by the authorities concerned. Resorting to jingoism and sensationalism may cause avoidable hazards.We see the attack on JNU as one of a series of attacks on academic autonomy and the liberal ethos of learning. The attempt to ban the Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle at IIT-Madras, questionable appointments at various institutions of higher education, and the recent attack on the Ambedkar Students’ Association at the University of Hyderabad leading to the death of research scholar Rohith Vemula, must be seen as a part of a very disturbing trend.

To function meaningfully, academic spaces should be vibrant and democratic, conducive for free enquiry and debate. We believe that universities have been and should remain, places for dialogue and deliberation. They should accommodate diverse opinions and cultures, where disagreements are resolved through the use of calm reason and balanced debate on both sides. Tampering with free inquiry by taking recourse to threat or intimidation not only tramples academic autonomy but leaves us poorer as a society. It is only through free exchange of thought, where ideas are allowed to propagate, and there remains a possibility of revision of previously-held opinions, that we develop as a nation and contribute to its further growth. We uphold the vibrant nature of India’s democracy and champion the right to dissent and examine the most fundamental concepts that are of interest to all Indian citizens. We stand in solidarity with JNUSU, JNUTA, JNU students, and all democratic bodies and individuals who are defending the liberal ethos of universities and appreciate the critical role they play in maintaining constitutional democracy.

Aditi Singh, IIT Kharagpur
Ahsan Mohammed, IIT Madras
Akaitab Mukherjee, IIT Dhanbad (ISM)
Amit Kumar Mishra, IIT Kharagpur
Amit Saurabh, IIT Bombay
Anitha Iris, IIT Madras
Ankit Saxena, IIT Roorkee
Ankita Agarwal, IIT Kharagpur
Ankita Das, IIT Dhanbad (ISM)
Ankur Betageri, IIT Delhi
Anukripa Elango, IIT Madras
Archana Kumari, IIT Dhanbad (ISM)
Archana Verma, IIT Dhanbad (ISM)
Arya Prakash, IIT Madras
Asha Rani Horo,  IIT Kharagpur
Ashni A L, IIT Madras
Ashwin Kurian Philip, IIT Madras
Asmita Verma, IIT Delhi
Bibhuti Mary Kachhap, IIT Dhanbad (ISM)
Chandana R B, IIT Madras
Chetan Kale, IIT Kharagpur
Chinju Johny, IIT Delhi
Debarati Dutta,  IIT Kharagpur
Debjani Sarkar, IIT Dhanbad (ISM)
Debashis Pahi,  IIT Kharagpur
Deepa Kozhisseri, IIT Madras
Diana Evangeline, IIT Madras
Drishadwati  Bargi, IIT Delhi
Geeta Mishra, IIT Delhi
Gurmeet Kaur, IIT Delhi
Hasna Ashraf, IIT Madras
Himanshi Pandey, IIT Kharagpur
Ishita Verma, IIT Dhanbad (ISM)
Jayshree Borah, IIT Madras
Joydeep, IIT Kharagpur
Justin Joseph, IIT Madras
Jyotsna Priyadarshni, IIT Kharagpur
Kalpana, IIT Kharagpur
Kranthi Kumar K, IIT Bombay
Keerthy P A, IIT Madras
Lalita, IIT Delhi
Laxmi Kumari, IIT Dhanbad (ISM)
Madhumit, IIT Kharagpur
Madhura Balasubramaniam, IIT Madras
Manohar Kumar, IIT Delhi
Manoj T P, IIT Madras
Mahendra Shahare, IIT Delhi
Mayuri Dilip, IIT Madras
Moupikta Mukherjee, IIT Dhanbad (ISM)
Meera M Panicker, IIT Madras
Mohammad Shahid Zaman,IIT Madras
Nishant Kumar,IIT Madras
Neha Gupta, IIT Delhi
Nikhil Yadav, IIT Delhi
Pallavi Kiran, IIT Dhanbad (ISM)
Prateek Vijayavargia, IIT Bombay
Pratyusha Bhowmik, IIT Kharagpur
Pritika Nehra, IIT Delhi
Purvi Oraon, IIT Madras
Queen Sarkar, IIT Kharagpur
Ranjith Kallyani, IIT Bombay
Ravi Chakraborty, IIT Delhi
Reema Singh, IIT Kharagpur
Reena Ashem, IIT Delhi
Rituparna Sengupta, IIT Delhi
Robin EJ, IIT Delhi
Ruhi Sonal, IIT Delhi
Rupali Bansode, IIT Delhi
Sahel Md. Delabul Hossain, IIT Dhanbad (ISM)
Saliha Shah, IIT Delhi
Sana Huque, IIT Bombay
Sandip Datta, IIT Delhi
Sarbani Bandyopadhyay, IIT Bombay
Seema Ladsaria, IIT Dhanbad (ISM)
Shashwati Sinha, IIT Kharagpur
Shikha Vats, IIT Delhi
Smrity Sonal, IIT Dhanbad (ISM)
Soumya Mohan Ghosh, IIT Dhanbad (ISM)
Sreelakshmi R, IIT Madras
Sree Hari A P, IIT Madras
Sridhar S, IIT Madras
Suchitra Pramanik, IIT Kharagpur
Sukruth Koundinya, IIT Madras
Supriya Pandey, IIT Kharagpur
Supriya Kumari Singh, IIT Kharagpur
Swati Mantri, IIT Delhi
Swayamshree Mishra, IIT Delhi
Swetha Sridhar, IIT Madras
Syed Junaid Ahmad, IIT Delhi
Tamali, IIT Bombay
Tanima Kumari, IIT Dhanbad (ISM)
Thapasya J, IIT Madras
Upasana Sinha, IIT Dhanbad (ISM)
Urmila Reghunath, IIT Madras
Vikas Malhotra, IIT Kharagpur
Vikram Chukka, IIT Delhi
Vinay, IIT Bombay
Vishal Singh, IIT Kharagpur
Zenia Nanra, IIT Kharagpur
 

#NoDissentNoCOUNTRY #StandWithJNU

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As the People’s Republic of Delhi dances to freedom’s song, people from around the world liberate banned speech. Bol Ke Labh Azad Hain Tere!

 
Divya Cherian, (JNU 2008) Rutgers University


Dora Zhang and Damon Young, University of California, Berkeley

 
Greta LaFleur, Yale University

As The People’s Republic of New Delhi Marches in the Free Air Students of Berkeley #StandWithJNU

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As the people of Delhi march, sing, run and dance to freedom’s call, as they cock a snook at the shackles of nationalism, casteism and authoritarian stupidity, a gift of love from afar. Look at them standing in the free air! Look at them standing around a piece of earth unbound from the myopia of nationalism!

BerkeleyStudents

“This soil and the air space extending above it shall not be a part of any nation and shall not be subject to any entity’s jurisdiction,”
 At the memorial to the 1964 Free Speech Movement on the campus of University of California, Berkeley, students and faculty stand in love and solidarity with JNU. #standwithJNU
 
 The memorial the 1964 Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley, like the thing it celebrates, is both invisible and embattled. The monument appears to be a circle of concrete six feet in diameter, in the middle of the famed Sproul Plaza where thousands of students gathered to demand the right to free speech and academic freedom on one of America’s most prominent and celebrated public university campuses. But that monument is so much more than what can be seen. The concrete circle, bearing the inscription “This soil and the air space extending above it shall not be a part of any nation and shall not be subject to any entity’s jurisdiction,” encompasses a 6-inch wide indentation into the ground that reaches into the soil below and 60,000 feet upwards into the sky, to the limits of American airspace. That is, in fact, the monument to free speech at Berkeley: 60,000 feet and 6-inches of invisible insistence that to speak freely is not and cannot be a right granted by any sovereign, mandated by any state. The width of the depression in the ground is as large as a person’s two feet. The ground on which they stand. From which they speak. This is the lasting monument to free speech at Berkeley. From a space as wide as our stance, reaching in an unseeable column of air to the limits of the stratosphere. A monument of air that can never, like free speech itself, be contained, torn down, or granted by another. It lies, unassuming, built as it is out of the immateriality of inalienable rights, in the middle of a campus that grapples daily with the legacy of that now 50 year old fight for the right to claim the space of the university as one of protest, of politics, of resistance.

 
But Berkeley, we mustn’t forget, exists on occupied territory. Its celebrated monument digs into soil that was taken, without recompense or acknowledgement, from the Ohlone people who were stripped of their lands, their language, their culture, and their lives in what America today celebrates as its great westward expansion. Thus, the monument to free speech at the University of California, Berkeley, roots itself into a soil it claims belongs to no nation and also reifies centuries of the genocide of indigenous people and of settler colonialism. This too is the legacy of the Free Speech Movement. Of the student-led activism that created Ethnic Studies programs across California and the rest of the United States. To stand in the 6-inch wide memorial is to stand in land that is occupied and to nonetheless believe that no occupation, no nation, no state, mandates our ability and our right to speak, to protest, to imagine otherwise the world in which we live.
From Berkeley to JNU. With love and solidarity.
Poulomi Saha
University of California, Berkeley

Bassi Unfit to be CIC: Shailesh Gandhi,former CIC, to the PM

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BS Bassi, Commissioner of Police, Delhi summoned to the PMO in the week beginning February 15, 2016

From one of India’s pioneering Information Commissioners about a crudely aspiring one. Gandhi was part of a countrywide movement to ensure due application of the Right to Information Act, a law that was finally enacted in 2005 after years of struggle by individuals and movements devoted to transparency and accountability. Gandhi brought verge and vigour to the post. Today he writes in perturbation to the Cabinet Secretary of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the rumours that BS Bassi, the controversial police commissioner of Delhi is angling for the post. The Cabinet Secretary, PK Mishra has been a loyal aide of Modi since 2001-2002.

Text of Shailesh Gandhi’s Open Letter

February 18, 2016
To,
Mr. PK Sinha, Cabinet Secretary,
Government of India.

There are news reports that Mr. Bassi is likely to be made an Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission. This would be a travesty of the process. There should be a transparent process for selecting an Information Commissioner in line with the spirit of the Right to Information Act.

I concede that the final selection is a political decision as per the Act, but there should be a transparent process for short-listing the panel to be presented to the selection committee. Not doing this is doing great harm to the RTI Act.

At this particular moment when Mr. Bassi appears to have acquiesced to an open subversion of two of the estates of our nation, his choice would be very unfortunate. By his collusive inaction journalists were attacked and the sanctity and respect for the judicial system and the courts was diminished. Even when a citizen does this, it is unacceptable.

From a public servant charged to uphold the law, it deserves the strongest condemnation. Julio Ribeiro has stated with sadness “I would have arrested the lawyers from their homes at night. I would never condone such acts,“ and “I always had a good opinion about Mr Bassi. Unfortunately, circumstances have changed my opinion about him. He is angling for a post-retirement job. “

If the government now makes him an Information Commissioner it would be a sad day for democracy, and people will believe that the denigration of the two estates of governance had the approval of the government. I have faith that this will not be true.

Please convey this to the Prime Minister.
Best regards
Shailesh Gandhi
 

The Rogue’s Gallery: Vikram Singh Chauhan flaunts his proximity to BJP’s Top Brass

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This warm and fuzzy picture is the profile photograph for Vikram Sungh Chauhan;s facebook page. He is the 'lawyer' caught by media images all over assaulting Kanhaiya Kumar and even women journalists.
There is more..

Here he is with the stalwart Lal Krsihna Advani

Chauhan has also posted pictures of him standing next to senior-most BJP leaders such as JP Nadda, Nirmala Sitharaman, Anurag Thankur, Sushil Modi, Dharmendra Pradhan and Kailash Vijaywargiya.

A  post on the page is in Hindi, dated October 26, 2015 announces that he has a filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court against what he calls the “media’s provocative and misleading strategy”. He calls on readers to post instances of the media promoting news in a wrong light. “Har jagah gandagi phaila rakha hai in logon ne, aayo inko sabak sikhayen (These people have defiled the atmosphere everywhere, let’s teach them a lesson),” he goes on to add.

Here are the interesting pictures

Meanwhile, a  lawyers’ body in Delhi district courts today virtually came out in defence of the attackers in black robes in the Patiala House courts, including Vikram Singh Chauhan who was garlanded in Karkardooma courts, to whose bar he belongs. Claiming that certain “outsiders” in lawyers’ robes indulged in violence, the Cordination Committee of all District Court Bar Associations demanded a “fair” inquiry into the incidents. In a shameful expression of defiance in the Karkardooma courts, lawyers held a candle light march for national integrity and against “victimisation” of lawyers. Chauhan, who has been bragging on social media about how the lawyers had taught “anti-nationals” a lesson in Patiala House complex, was reportedly garlanded.
 

Lawyers or Goondas? Choose, You cannot be Both: senior counsel Mihir Desai

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Kanhaiya Kumar, JNUSU President outside Patiala Court on February 17

Not one of the Statements attributed to Kanhaiya can be deemed sedition, even as it exists, Desai

Senior counsel Mihir Desai from Bombay High Court, spoke to Teesta Setalvad on the gross misconduct by lawyers who assaulted Kanhaiya and others at the Patiala house court, Delhi and said categorically that they should have their licenses suspended and then cancelled:

 “Several basic principles of ethics of the legal profession have been seriously violated by the lawyers that we saw on television taking law into their own hands and assaulting women and men, including Kanhaiya Kumar on February 15 and 16 at the Patiala House Court, Delhi

First, the legal profession and lawyers work on the presumption of innocence and therefore to abuse and assault somebody on the footing that he and his supporters are already guilty goes against the tenet of any existing jurisprudence in India

Second, preventing a person from being effectively represented also goes against the basic tenets of legal ethics. This is what the assaulting lawyers essentially did; violate the basic tenets of their profession.

The third thing – and this is crucial — is that Courtrooms are sacred places, temples of justice. Where an atmosphere of reason and calm must prevail to enable lawyers on both sides as well as the Judge to come to a conclusion based on logic reason and evidence rather than passion.

Finally as lawyers you are not only representatives of one party or another; you are also ‘officers of the court.’ As ‘officers of the Court you are required to uphold the rule of law and have respect for the judicial system. If you don’t then you might as well resign and become full time goondas rather than part time ones!

You have Bar Council Rules that govern lawyers conduct and a strong professional ethics course when you study law. Bar Council Rules themselves incorporate professional ethics. Any misconduct is tested on the envelope of professional ethics.

Bar Council rules say that clearly that everyone has a right to be represented. Here we have a shameful situation where lawyers in black coats are beating up innocents. What happened on February 15 and 16 is misconduct by any stretch of the imagination: whether in black robes or not, as lawyers you are not supposed to be beating up people; if you do, you are liable to have your licenses suspended and finally cancelled So quite apart from criminal action the licenses of these lawyers should be suspended.

You can have only one profession, if you want to become goondas you must surrender your license! As a lawyer you study professional ethics and you have to practice ethically. For example, I may personally not take up the case of a rapist, but I would defend the right of the(a) rapist to have a lawyer.

What happened in Delhi was a first unless you include what happened in Pakistan
This was the first time for this kind of behaviour, certainly. There are instances when an entire Bar Association passes a resolution to deny defence to some accused. In Jagdalpur, Chhatisgarh recently, the local Bar Association has made it virtually impossible for lawyers appearing for tribals to function. But this kind of direct assaults by lawyers, this kind of violence within the Courtroom, this amounts to lawyers ganging up against an accused. This is indeed a first.

The only similarity I can find with this incident is in Pakistan where the assassins and killers of governor  Salman Taseer were showered with rose petals and hailed with shouts by lawyers within a Pakistani courtroom (January 5, 2011). This is as shameful.

The power of the Court to prevent Contempt that happens in its own face
Any court has the power to deal with contempt that is committed in its own face even the Magistrate’s Court.

What happened on February 15 and 16 was a clear contempt and the Magistrate Court should have initiated proceedings for Criminal Contempt. While a Magistrate does not have ordinary powers of contempt but when contempt happens in its face, the Court should have immediately acted. Here even the police stood by and watched. Now that the Supreme Court has been approached, we hope for the sternest steps.

It is also obvious that these lawyers do not know the law. They are clueless about the law. I say this because none of the statements attributed to Kanhaiya can amount to sedition even under the existing draconian and outdated section of the law, as it exists.

Finally I don’t believe that the lawyers were acting out of their love for India. They were acting as the mouthpiece of a particular ideology and with the confidence that the ruling party whose interest they were serving will not haul them up but will actually hail them for what they are doing. This bodes very ill for our democracy.

Background:
Mihir Desai has represented successfully cartoonist Asim Trivedi in the Bombay High Court when a case of sedition was filed against him. He is presently also counsel for journalist Mathew from Tehelka against whom several FIRs (where the sedition section has been applied) have been filed by Shiv Sainiks all over Maharashtra. This related to a comment on former Sena chief, Thackeray. The Bombay High Court has stayed the prosecution. Desai has also appeared for journalist Shirin Dalvi, the editor of an Urdu publication who was hounded after she published Charlie Hebdo cartoons. Her argument was; since in Islam there is no belief in the visual depiction of the Prophet why should there be offence caused by any such depiction by anyone! Not only was she severely ostracised but several criminal complaints were filed against her. These have been collectively stayed by the Bombay High Court.
 
 
 

 

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