Even as reports of Kanhaiya Kumar being beaten under the police's gaze have surfaced, and a tense standoff between the people of Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Delhi police drags on, various academic communities from around the world have written in with their support for the students. The ones The Wire has received are collected and reproduced, in full, below.

Statements:

1. Architects in solidarity with the JNU community
2. IIT Delhi faculty - Letter of solidarity for JNU
3. Syracuse University - Statement of solidarity for academic freedom in India
4. University of Oxford members, alumni - In solidarity with JNU
5. Japanese scholars working on India - Statement in support of the teaching and student community of Jawaharlal Nehru University
6. Statement of solidarity by Noam Chomsky, Orhan Pamuk, and others
7. Stanford University extends solidarity to JNU
8. Letter of solidarity with JNU students and faculty from professionals, academics and artists in West Bengal
9. Statement from academicians in Gujarat
10. Canadian academics stand with JNU and student struggles in India
11. Open letters from CeMIS professors and students expressing solidarity with JNU students and staff
12. Statement of solidarity with student activists in India, from Pennsylvania
13. Bangalore research network's letter of solidarity with JNU
14. In solidarity with the dissenting student community in India: A statement from Australia
15. Statement of solidarity with Jawaharlal Nehru University, India – City University of New York
16. Statement of support for JNU – from the academic community of Rhode Island (PDF)
17. Statement from Sri Lanka in solidarity with protesting students of India (PDF)
18. Statement of solidarity with JNU from members of Yale University
19. A citizen’s appeal to the president of India to restore trust in the democratic spirit of our Constitution (PDF)
20. Statement of solidarity from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (PDF)
21. UK South Asia Institutes in solidarity with JNU
22. Statement of solidarity from a group of alumni – TISS, India (PDF)
23. Open letter in support of the students and faculty of JNU – Berlin academics

1. Architects in solidarity with the JNU community

To: The JNU Teachers Association, JNU Students Union
CC: Vice Chancellor, JNU

We are writing this in utmost shock and despair regarding the recent events and developments at your campus. We want to extend our full support to the JNU teachers association and the democratically elected JNU Student Union. We believe there is a difference between the nation, the state and the government of the day, and fully support your constitutional right to air your positions, as different or diverse as they may be, without illegal interference from any particular ruling ideology, party or state machinery.

As those engaged in architecture, we believe that imagination and reason are the highest of human faculties. This gift is what we constantly cultivate and rely on – in academia and in practice - when we question what exists, however natural, fixed and irreplaceable it may seem, and fearlessly posit alternatives. Indeed, there is little difference for us between possessing a moral imagination and being able to imagine such alternate worlds and other ways of being.

The inability therefore to envision life in another’s shoes, to disagree and to counter ideas with more aesthetic or eloquent ones without resorting to character assassination, violence and charges of anti-nationalism, betray to us an alarming lack of imagination, and we strongly condemn this in all its forms.

We condemn this absence of imagination and the physical and epistemic violence it has unleashed on the university community especially teachers and students. We stand with you in support of the university as a marketplace of ideas where all ideas and opinions are passionately argued, ripped apart, defended and critically re-imagined in ever new ways, leading to a more enlightened citizenry. This must be allowed to happen without fear or favour, risk of persecution or charges of sedition. If nothing else, the imagination of our founding fathers demands it, and we are in solidarity with your right to exercise it.

(This statement represents us in our individual capacities and not the institutions we are associated with.)

Signatories: (In alphabetical order)

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2. Letter of solidarity for JNU from members of IIT Delhi faculty

We, a group of faculty members from IIT Delhi, are seriously concerned by the events unfolding at JNU and in the national capital over the past few days. A university space is an invitation to think, discuss, argue, debate sometimes heatedly, but always with respect. This respect must extend to ideas one disagrees with. It is only from such an open exchange of ideas that our collective understanding can increase, and knowledge can advance. But it seems that the spaces for such open discussion, of which JNU has always been one, are gradually being closed across the country.

We condemn the increasingly narrow definitions of nationalism that are being imposed on the citizens of India and used as instruments for the closing of the Indian mind. We choose to embrace a nationalism which celebrates our plurality as a country, and which is not threatened by dissent and disagreement. We stand with all those who share this vision.

(This statement is issued in our individual capacities, and does not represent the institution’s opinion.)

1. Krishna AchutaRao (Centre for Atmospheric Sciences)
2. Sumeet Agarwal (Electrical)
3. Vibha Arora (Humanities and Social Sciences)
4. Amitabha Bagchi (Computer Science)
5. Somnath Baidya Roy (Centre for Atmospheric Sciences)
6. Premachandran Balachandran (Mechanical)
7. Subhashis Banerjee (Computer Science)
8. Varsha Banerjee (Physics)
9. Biswajit Bhattacharjee (Civil)
10. Bijoy Boruah (Humanities and Social Sciences)
11. Arudra Burra (Humanities and Social Sciences)
12. Charusita Chakravarty (Chemistry)
13. Pritha Chandra (Humanities and Social Sciences)
14. Shouri Chatterjee (Electrical)
15. Santanu Chaudhury (Electrical)
16. Divya Dwivedi (Humanities and Social Sciences)
17. Naveen Garg (Computer Science)
18. Arjun Ghosh (Humanities and Social Sciences)
19. James Gomes (School of Biological Sciences)
20. K Hariharan (Mechanical)
21. Samar Husain (Humanities and Social Sciences)
22. Farhana Ibrahim (Humanities and Social Sciences)
23. Ravinder Kaur (Humanities and Social Sciences)
24. Stuti Khanna (Humanities and Social Sciences)
25. Reetika Khera (Humanities and Social Sciences)

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3. Statement of solidarity for academic freedom in India (Syracuse University)

We, the undersigned at Syracuse University, Colgate University, and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, are in solidarity with our comrades at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), India against the ongoing anti-democratic actions by the Indian state. We demand an immediate end to the police action against students on campus, and withdrawal of all charges against Kanhaiya Kumar, President of the JNU Students’ Union. We further demand that the Central Government put an immediate end to its prejudiced persecution of student activists on campuses across the country.

We strongly believe that the charge of sedition against Kanhaiya Kumar follows spurious claims. This arrest is an excuse for the state to root out dissenting voices on JNU campus, a move towards converting educational institutions like JNU into an arm of the authoritarian state. Attempts of a similar nature have been witnessed recently at other Indian educational institutions such as Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and Hyderabad University. The growing threat to academic freedom posed by the current political climate is transnational, and extends beyond India to other parts of the world--it is a threat we face here in the United States, too.

For any word or action to qualify as being “seditious” under Indian law, it has to directly issue a call to violence. This was not the nature of the protest held by JNU students against the judicial killing of Afzal Guru, who was convicted of an attack on the Indian parliament. The peaceful protest held on February 9 on campus was not unlike other protests convened at the university over the last several decades. Dissent is an essential part of a healthy democracy. We therefore strongly condemn the Indian government’s response to the students’ protests and demand that the state refrain from authoritarian behaviour. In this spirit, we urge the Vice Chancellor of JNU to protect members of the university community and safeguard their democratic rights.

1. Natasha S.K., Social Science, Syracuse University
2. Taveeshi Singh, Social Science, Syracuse University
3. Mitul Baruah, Geography, Syracuse University
4. Sean Wang, Geography, Syracuse University
5. Miguel Contreras, Geography, Syracuse University
6. Manuela Ruiz Reyes, Geography, Syracuse University
7. Carolina Arango-Vargas, Anthropology, Syracuse University
8. Tina Catania, Geography, Syracuse University
9. Linh Khanh Nguyen, Anthropology, Syracuse University
10. Jon Erickson, Geography, Syracuse University
11. Tom Perreault, Geography, Syracuse University
12. Jessie Speer, Geography, Syracuse University
13. Sravani Biswas, History, Syracuse University
14. Don Mitchell, Geography, Syracuse University
15. Tod Rutherford, Geography, Syracuse University
16. Jacquelyn Micieli Voutsinas, Geography, Syracuse University
17. Sturdy Knight, Information Studies, Syracuse University
18. Jenna Sikka, Sociology, Syracuse University
19. Jaisang Sun, Social Science, Syracuse University
20. Madhura Lohokare, Anthropology, Syracuse University
21. Brian Dobreski, Information Studies, Syracuse University
22. Sujata Bajracharya, Religion, Syracuse University
23. Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Women’s and Gender Studies, Syracuse University
24. Alisa Weinstein, Anthropology, Syracuse University
25. Li Chen, Mass Communications, Syracuse University
26. Taapsi Ramchandani, Anthropology, Syracuse University
27. Laura Jaffee, Cultural Foundations of Education, Syracuse University
28. Tula Goenka, Television-Radio-Film, Syracuse University
29. Romita Ray, Art and Music Histories, Syracuse University
30. Dorothy Kou, Sociology, Syracuse University
31. Kriangsak Terrakowitkajom, Geography, Syracuse University
32. Susan S. Wadley, Anthropology, Syracuse University
33. Emily Mitchell-Eaton, Geography, Syracuse University
34. Scarlett Rebman, History, Syracuse University
35. Matt Huber, Geography, Syracuse University
36. Brian Hennigan, Geography, Syracuse University
37. Parvathy Binoy, Geography, Syracuse University
38. Liz Mount, Sociology, Syracuse University
39. Himika Bhattacharya, Women's & Gender Studies, Syracuse University
40. John Western, Geography, Syracuse University
41. Vani Kannan, Composition and Cultural Rhetoric, Syracuse University
42. Ani Maitra, Film and Media Studies, Colgate University
43. Diane Swords, Cultural Foundations of Education, Syracuse University
44. Alejandro Camargo, Geography, Syracuse University
45. Cecilia Van Hollen, Anthropology, Syracuse University
46. Alexandra Jebbia, Documentary Film & History, Syracuse University
47. David Gustavsen, English, Syracuse University
48. Michael Gill, Cultural Foundations of Education, Syracuse University
49. Tiago Teixeira, Geography, Syracuse University
50. Nimanthi Rajasingham, English, Colgate University
51. Kimberly E. Powell, Women’s & Gender Studies, Syracuse University
52. Sharon Moran, Environmental Studies, SUNY-ESF
53. Adam Fix, Environmental Studies, SUNY-ESF
54. Alvaro A. Salas, Public Administration, Syracuse University
55. Diane R. Wiener, Division of Student Affairs - Disability Cultural Center, Syracuse University
56. Brett Keegan, Composition and Cultural Rhetoric, Syracuse University
57. Jyoti G. Balachandran, History, Colgate University
58. Barbara L. Regenspan, Educational Studies, Colgate University
59. Deborah J. Knuth Klenck, English, Colgate University
60. Suzanne B. Spring, Writing & Rhetoric, Colgate University
61. Cristina Serna, Women’s Studies, Colgate University
62. Joel Bordeaux, Religion, Colgate University
63. Mark Stern, Educational Studies, Colgate University
64. Susan Thomson, Peace and Conflict Studies, Colgate University
65. Kapil Mandrekar, Environmental and Forest Biology, SUNY-ESF
66. Jackie Orr, Sociology, Syracuse University

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4. In solidarity with JNU: University of Oxford members, alumni

We, the undersigned members and alumni of the University of Oxford, stand firmly in solidarity with fellow students, teachers and scholars at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). We condemn the ongoing persecution of the student community in JNU, in particular the arrest of JNU Students Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar under sedition charges. We protest the use of institutional and state machinery to stifle dissent on campuses, and the attempt to persecute those whose views do not conform to the narrow narratives of ‘nationalism’, ‘nationhood’ and ‘Indian culture’ promoted and endorsed by the ruling party. We view the crackdown in JNU in a continuum with the use of state machinery to clamp down on dissenting views and ideologies on campuses, most prominently at the FTII, Jadavpur University, IIT-Madras and the University of Hyderabad (UoH). We would like to point out that it was a similar witchhunt, backed by state authority, that led to the suicide of Dalit scholar and student leader of the Ambedkar Students' Association, Rohith Vemula. We also stand in solidarity with the ongoing rally hunger strike at UoH and the struggles of the Joint Action Committee for Social Justice, demanding justice for Rohith Vemula.

We are concerned that sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) have been used to criminalise dissent. University campuses are meant to provide spaces for deliberation and even disagreement; the abuse of the law in order to stifle students’ voices is indicative of an authoritarian state’s attempts to ideologically capture the university space. Further, we believe that Section 124-A of the IPC, which codifies the law on sedition, is fundamentally anachronistic to a democratic state. Even so, for a charge of sedition to be made out, the law requires that violence must necessarily follow subversive speech, which is conspicuously absent in this case.

We are distressed by reported violence targeting students, professors and journalists on the premises of the Patiala House Court, both inside and outside the courtroom, on February 15 and 17, 2016. We urge all responsible parties, including the police and court personnel, to fulfill their constitutional duty in ensuring a fair and secure trial. That this happened under the silent watch of the police and other authorities, is indicative of their complicity. We are also concerned about the profiling and vilification of certain students by sections of the media; for instance, the irresponsible media reportage on JNU student Umar Khalid is a grave point of concern.

We condemn the continued police presence in the JNU campus. We appeal to the government and police to understand us, first, as a broad spectrum of students, who believe in different ideologies, but come together to demand the right to hold these independent beliefs without the threat of state sanctioned violence. We believe that the idea of India, as a multifarious nation, cannot and must not be held ransom by the hyper-nationalism of a particular group. Protecting the university space, where the critical spirit of questioning is nurtured, must remain of utmost importance to any democratic state. These events have, in effect, become a vicious attack on more than just the freedom of expression, speech and ideation guaranteed to us by the Constitution of India. We admire JNU's resilience, and we stand with JNU in this moment of crisis, as a mark of our commitment to the freedom of thought and action and in support of the freedom from fear — of the state, surveillance and pernicious political control.

Signed,

1.Umika Pidaparthy, MSc Social Science of the Internet, 2015-2016

2.Amrita Sengupta, MSc Social Science of the Internet, 2015-16

3.Deepa Kurup, MPhil candidate, Oxford Department of International Development

4.Baisali Mohanty, MSc Contemporary India, School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies

5.Jayesha M. Koushik, MPhil Development Studies, 2015-2017

6.Divya David, MSc Contemporary India, 2014-15

7.Yasser Shams Khan, DPhil English, 2015-2019

8.Mansi Sood, Bachelor of Civil Law, 2015-16

9.Gala Pouzanov, MPhil English Studies

10.Payaswini Tailor, MPhil Politics, Department of Politics and International Relations

11.Sanya Samtani, Bachelor of Civil Law, 2015-2016

12.Varun Ramesh, MSc. in Contemporary India, 2016

13.Natasha Maru, MPhil in Development Studies 2016

14.Padmini Gopal, MSc Contemporary India, 2016

15.Lipika Kamra, DPhil, Department of International Development

16.Sneha Krishnan, DPhil Development Studies, 2015

17.Tara Greig, DPhil in British History

18.Gabriella Crimi, MPhil in Development Studies, 2017

19.Kalyani Madhura Ramachandran, MPhil Anthropology, 2015

20.Onaiza Drabu, MSc Social Anthropology, 2016

21.Niyati Sharma, D.Phil English, 2014-2017

22.Rumi Pegu, MSc. in Contemporary India, 2015-16

23.Yussef Robinson, BA History and Politics

24.Jinal Dadiya, Bachelor of Civil Law 2015-16

25.Carl Ohman, MSc in Social Science of the Internet, 2015-2016

26.Sneha Menon, MPhil Economics, 2015

27.David Adler, MPhil Politics, 2017

28.Alice Lepeuple, MSc in Political Theory Research, 2015-2016

29.Gitanjali Keshava, Bachelor of Civil Law 2015-2016

30.Deniz Duru Aydin, MSc Candidate, 2015-16

31.Sonali Chowdhry, Candidate for MPhil Economics, 2015-2017

32.Harendar Neel, Bachelor of Civil Law, 2015-2016

33.Aisha Ahmad, MPhil Development Studies, 2017

34.Lakshmy Venkatesh, MSt Archaeology, 2016

35.Ashwin Menon, MSc Education, 2015-16

36.Challenger Mishra, D.Phil. in Theoretical Physics, 2011

37.Paris Zhao, Oxford Internet Institute, 2016

38.Prerna Bakshi, Msc Global Governance and Diplomacy

39.Anne Payne, MSt Global & Imperial History 2016

40.Amit Kumar, D.Phil Candidate Chemistry

41.Amba Uttara Kak, Bachelor of Civil Law, 2015-2016

42.L Molloy, DPhil Social Science of the Internet

43.Ashley Pople, MSc in Economics for Development, 2015-2016

44.Rebecca Byrnes, Bachelor of Civil Law, 2015-2016

45.Leo Boonzaier, DPhil (Law) student

46.Dr Rahul Gandhi, BSc (Neuroscience), MBChB, Member, Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Fulbright Awardee, MBA University of Oxford 2015-16

47.Dr. Bhaskar Bhushan, DPhil Organic Chemistry, 2010-2014

48.Dr. Aakashi Bhatt, MSc Clinical Embryology, 2015-2016

49.Jose Ignacio Morales, Magister Juris, 2015-2016

50.Anisha Sharma, DPhil Economics, 2011-16

51.Jessica Glennie, MSc Environmental Change and Management, 2015

52.Shannon Philip, D.Phil International Development

53.Leonie Hoffmann, PPE, 2014

54.Mayanka Mukherji, MPhil in Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology, 2015

55.Seham Areff, MSc Global Governance and Diplomacy, 2015-2016

56.Tushar Menon, DPhil in Philosophy

57.Natalya Din-Kariuki, DPhil Candidate in English, 2013

58.Utkarsh Bhatnagar

59.Richa Sinha, ECM

60.Diptasri Basu, Master of Public Policy, Blavatnik School of Government, 2015-2016

61.Vimal Balasubramaniam, DPhil (Candidate), Said Business School

62.Subhashish Bhadra, M. Phil. In Economics

63.Teja Varma Pusapati, D.Phil Student in English

64.Neelakshi Tewari, M.Sc. Education, 2015

65.Fran Green-Armytage, Chemistry

66.Geetanjali Sharma

67.Rakesh Sharma, DPhil, 2009

68.Nikhil M. Pandhi, M.Phil Archeology

69.Julian Pohl, MPhil in Politics

70.Priyanka Mehra, MSc Contemporary India

71.Ria Kapoor, D.Phil History, 2015

72.Charlie Tyson, MSc History of Science, Medicine, and Technology, 2016

73.Ned Dostaler, MPhil Medical Anthropology, 2015

74.Deeksha Manchanda, Bachelor of Civil Law, 2013

75.Martin Pastor, Magister Juris, 2016

76.Garima Singh, MSc Environmental Change and Management, 2014-15

77.Andrew Wheeler, MSc in Economics for Development, 2016

78.Emile Rolland, Mst. Modern South Asian Studies Postgraduate

79.Marlena Valles, Bachelor of Civil Law, 2015-2016

80.Amogha Varsha, DPhil, 2010-14

81.Cannelle Gueguen-Teil, MPhil Development Studies, 2015-17

82.Gautam Bondada, D.Phil Archaeology, 2012-17

83.Faiza Rahman , Bachelor of Civil Law, 2015-16

84.Meghan Finn, Bachelor of Civil Law, 2015-16

85.Tyler Overton, MPhil Development Studies, 2015-16

86.Manish Kushwaha, D.Phil. Biochemistry, 2006-10

87.Aban Haq, MPhil Development Studies, 2015-17

88.Abhinav, Bachelor of Business Administration, 2012-15

89.Lakshmi Neelakantan, MSc Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation, 2015-16

90.Devony Schmidt, MPhil European Politics & Society, 2014-2016

91.Ellie Marshall, MSc Social Science of the Internet, 2014-2015

92.Joseph Barrett, MPhil in Economic and Social History, 2017

93.Chetna Shrivastava, Bachelor of Civil Law, 2015-2016

94.Souktik Roy, BA-MMath, 2014

95.Sai Gourisankar, MSt Global and Imperial History, 2015

96.Kaushal Vidyarthee, MPhil in Development Studies, 2006-08

97.Andrea Wright, MSc Physics 2016

98.Debasmita Padhi, MSc Economics for Development, 2015-16

99.Rachael Midlen, MPhil Development Studies, 2014-2016

100.Pavithra Srinivasan, MSc Social Anthropology, 2013-14

101.Anders Møller, MPhil Development Studies, 2014-2016

102.Sana Moyeen, MPhil Development Studies, 2015-17

103.Byron Gray, M.Phil in Social Anthropology, 2012-2014

104.Prerna Bakshi, Msc. Global Governance and Diplomacy, 2015-16

105.Achas Burin, Dphil, 2015)

106.Vincent Wolff Zahner, Master of Public Policy, 2015-16

107.Arpita Varghese, MSc Global Governance and Diplomacy, 2015-16

108.Shreya Atrey, DPhil (Law), Bachelor of Civil Law, 2011-15

109.Garima Jaju, DPhil International Development, 2015-18

110.Soumya Mishra, DPhil International Development 2015

111.Vasudha Sharma, Bachelor of Civil Law, 2015-2016

112.Anshumali Nilesh, MSc Mathematics and Foundations of Computer Science, 2015-16

113.Abhilasha Joshi, DPhil Neuroscience, 2013-2017

114.Udit Bhatia, DPhil Political Theory, 2014- 17

115.Santanu Bhattacharya, Master of Public Policy, 2015-2016

116.Arindam Banerjee, Master of Public Policy, 2015-16

117.Faraz Janan, DPhil Engineering, 2014

118.Nicholas Letchford, DPhil Mathematics, 2013-2016

119.Sunniva Melhuus, MPhil Politics, 2014-16

120.Judith Dada, MSc Social Science of the Internet

121.Gayathri Balan, Master of Business Administration, 2015-2016

122.Dhruti Babariya, DPhil Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2013-17

123.Tariq Parker, Msc Neuroscience, 2015-16

124.Richard Kendall, MPhil Classical Archaeology, 2014-16

125.Kayla Svoboda, MPhil in Development Studies, 2016

126.Josephine Mahony, DPhil Environmental Sciences, 2015-2019

127.HF Ryan DPhil Archaeology

128.Nicole Beardsworth MSc African Studies 2012/13

129.Eden Bailey, MSt Musicology, 2015-16

130.Shalmalee Ghate MPhil Development Studies, 2016-17

131.Anna Baird, Lit Hum BA, 2017

132.Md Adil Hossain, DPhil International Development, 2014

133.Min Zha, MSc Education, 2015

134.Ayush Ranjan, MSc. in Contemporary India, 2015-16

135.Indigo Hope Wilde, BFA Fine Art, 2014

136.Chandrashekar Madaiah, MSc Physics, 2002-2005

137.Arthur (Eirich), MPhil Social Anthropology, 2015-16

138.Matthew Eric Garret, MPhil 2015

139.Devanshi Shah, CS Exec, B.Com

140.Aneil Jaswal, DPhil Public Health, 2016

141.Shrochis Karki, DPhil International Development (2011-2015)

142.Vanshica Kant (M.St Global & Imperial History, 2013-14)

143.Ankita Pandey D. Phil Candidate

144.Sa'eed Husaini, DPhil International Development, 2015

145.Sahana Ghosh, MPhil Migration Studies, 2008-10

146.Aranyani Bhargav, Msc Contenporary India, 2009-10

147.Ayudh Reyaz , M.Arch , 2012-17

148.Shagun Gupta/MSc Global Governance and Diplomacy/2014-2015

149.Zakir Hossain Majumder, Grad Student (PhD), Interdisciplinary Humanities, University of California, Merced

150.Dhvani Mehta (Bachelor of Civil Law, 2010; M.Phil Law, 2011; D.Phil Candidate Law)

151.Bhumi Purohit, MSc Contemporary India 2014-2015

152.Akanksha Awal, D.Phil (Anthropology) 2014

153.Swati Janu, MSUD, 2013-15

154.Diwita Mathivanan; MA History 2015-Present

155.Ratika Yumnam, MSc Contemporary India 2013-2014

156.Gayeti Singh (Msc Contemporary South Asian Studies) (2009-10)

157.Ankana Das, MA English 2016

158.Mezna Qato (DPhil History)

159.Nirad Vidrohi/MA, Development, 2015-2017

160.VRO Student 2014-2015

161.Gael Sirello, VRO BA PPE, 2014-2015

162.Sakshi, B.C.L. (2014-15)

163.James Nottage, BA History & Politics (2010), MSc Contemporary India (2014)

164.Lakshmee Sharma, MSc Social Anthropology 2014-15

165.Saurabh Mishra DPhil History (2005-08)

166.Fergus Peace, BPhil Philosophy 2015-7

167.Konpal Kaur Mphil archaeology 2015-17

168.Prerona Prasad, Modern History Department

169.Ilunga Mpyana, Master of Public Policy, 2015-2016

170.Abigail Desmond, MPhil Archaeology, 2015-2017

171.Jaskiran Chohan, MSc Latin American Studies, Latin America Centre, 2013-2014

172.Amaal Akhtar, Msc Contemporary India, 2014-15

173.Debasmita Deb, PhD student, Women's Studies, 2013

174.Vanya Vaidehi Bhargav, D.Phil History, (2013-)

175.Anica Mann-Kapur, Mphil Classical Indian Religion, 2013-15

176.Lofred Madzou, MSc in Social Science of the Internet (2015-2016)

177.Arijeet Pal (Research Fellow, Theoretical Physics)

178.Raag Yadava (MPhil, Law, 2015-16)

179.Joe Hayns-Worthington Dphil Anthropology 2011-2016

180.Anisha Gururaj, MSc in Global Governance and Diplomacy, 2016.

181.Corinne Cattekwaad, Alumni (MSc in Social Science of the Internet) 2014 - 15

182.Jem Jones, CAAH Classics, 2013-16

183.Amar Sohal (DPhil. History, 2015-18)

184.Musab Younis, DPhil International Relations, 2013-16

185.Kiran Benipal, Literae Humaniores, 2018-19

186.Farheen Ahmed (BA, jurisprudence; 2014-17)

187.Dalia Gebrial, MSt. World Literatures, 2015-2016

188.Vivian Holmes, MMathPhil Mathematics & Philosophy 2013-17

189.Lucy Hirst, BA Classics 2014-2015

190.Aliya Yule, PPE, 2017

191.Priyanka deSouza MSc Environmental Change and Management 2013

192.Madeleine Norman, Classics, 2013-18

193.Tim Pfefferle, MSc Global Governance and Diplomacy, Department for International Development, 2016

194.T Khaitan, Bachelor of Civil Law, 2004

195.Jacob Armstrong BA English and Modern Language (GER), 2014

196.Mili Malde, Classics, BA Classics, 3rd year

197.Vinayak Uppal MSc. Economics for Development, 2009

198.Kate Tunstall, Faculty (Modern Languages)

199.Mihika Chatterjee, DPhil, 2015

200.Gil Chambers, Materials Science, Department of Materials, 1st

201.Arushi Garg, D Phil in Law,

202.Yasser Shams Khan, DPhil English, 2015-2019

203.Tanyah Hameed, MPhil Comparative Social Policy, Dept of Social Policy and Intervention

204.S Iravani, BA. English

205.David Bowe, DPhil, Medieval and Modern Languages

206.Nils Rochowicz, MPhil Economics 2015

207.Sachin Croker, BA English Language and literature, 2013

208.Nazmus Tareque, Bachelor of Civil Law, 2015-16

209.Nomfundo Ramalekana, Bachelor of Civil Law, 2015-2016

210.Kristin Grogan, DPhil English, 2014

211.Ananthi Al Ramiah, DPhil Experimental Psychology, 2009

212.Lindsay Lee (Master of Public Policy 2015)

213.Chi Chi Shi, MPhil. Political Theory, 2nd year

214.Ndjodi Ndeunyema (Bachelor of Civil Law) 2015/2016

215.Divyanshi Chugh (MSc. Comparative Social Policy, Department of Social Policy), Batch 2014-2015

216.Simukai Chigudu, DPhil in International Development, 2016

217.Felix Binder, DPhil Physics

218.Benjamin Abraham, DPhil Public Policy. year 1

219.Ela Naegele, MSc. Political Theory, 2014

220.Rebecca Dixon, MPhil in Development Studies 2012-2014

221.Namratha Rao, DPhil English 2015 - 2018

222.Arev Papazian, MPhil. Social Anthropology, 2015-2016

223.Sanchari Dutta, DPhil History, 2007

224.Aidan Hocking, MSt. Global and Imperial History, 2014-15

225.Geoffrey Yeung, Bachelor of Civil Law, 2016

226.Marc Shi Msc. Social Policy and Intervention

227.Bernard Soubry, M.Phil in Environmental Change and Management, 2015

228.Rui Barbosa (Research Assistant, Computer Science)

229.Kirti Mahapatra, Bachelor of Civil Law, 2012-13

230.Alba Kapoor BA History and Politics

231.Kate Nussenbaum, MSc. (Res) Experimental Psychology, 2017

232.Emily Blease, MPhil Anthropology

233.Simon-Chevarie-Cossette, DPhil. Philosophy, 2014

234.Max Harris, Bachelor of Civil Law and Master of Public Policy (2012-2014)

235.Samuel Demharter, DPhil Computer Science, 4th year

236.Swathi Swaminathan, MSc Psychological Research

237.Raphael Chaskalson, MSc in Economic and Social History, 2015/16

238.Ritika Tewari, MSc. Global Governance and Diplomacy, 2015

239.Sujit Thomas, MPhil Modern British and European History 2012-14

240.Ntokozo Qwabe (MSc. African Studies, 2016)

241.Eleonora Serra, MSt. Linguistics, year 2013-2014

242.Arwa Awan, Visiting Undergrad, History and Politics

243.Elizabeth Dann, BA, Medieval and Modern Languages, 3rd year

244.Marija Pantelic, DPhil Social Policy and Intervention, 2013

245.Vanessa Gerber [MSc Environmental Change & Management]

246.Jack Doyle, DPhil History, 2017

247.Prateek Jain (Masters of Business Administration, 2016)

248.Salmoli Choudhuri, Bachelor of Civil Law, 2015-16

249.Ms. Ranu Sinha, M.Phil in Geography and the Environment, Department of Geography and the Environment, October 2014 - 2016

250.Vindhya Srinivasamani, Bachelor of Civil Laws, 2012-13

251.Anirudh Mathur, BA Hons PPE, 2014

252.Anupama Kumar, Bachelor of Civil Law (2013-14) and MSt Archaeology (2014-15)

253.Alex Diwa, DPhil Clinical Medicine

254.Vikaran Khanna, DPhil. Physics, 2010

255.Matt Broomfield, BA English Language & Literature, 2015

256.Abhishek Bhattacharyya. B.A. English Language and Literature. Christ Church. Matriculation: 2009.

257.Ayyaz Mallick, MBiochem, Alumnus Oriel College

258.Sanober Umar, MSc Anthropology and International Development

259.Chandrika Prasad Verma, PhD., Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health JNU

260.Aditi Vyas, MSc. History of Science, Medicine and Technology, Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine, 2007

261.Marisa Macari, DPhil Anthropology, 2013

262.Arbind K Chaudhary

263.Shruthi, History, First Year

264.Nora Bardelli, DPhil International Development, 2014

265.Richard Toppo MSc. Contemporary India 2013

266.Sarabe Chan (MA Poverty and Development, IDS) 2015-16

267.Alexandra Reza, MPhil. International Relations, 2015

268.Kalina Naidoo, Masters by Research in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, 1st Year.

269.Drasko Kascelan, MSc Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition, Department of Education, 2014

270.Jess Rahman MSt Women's Studies

271.Ryan Daniels, DPhil Zoology, 2015

272.Kate Stewart, BA English, 2nd Year

273.Madalina Ciocanu, Anthropology, 2017

274.charlotte Linton, Mphil Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology, 2016

275.Rosie Fraser BA Spanish and Portuguese First Year

276.Nils Karl Reimer, MSc in Psychological Research, 2014

277.Shohini Sengupta, MSc in Law and Finance, 2015

278.Fadiah Nadwa, Mst International Human Rights Law, 2015

279.Crea O'Hanlon MPhil Russian and East European Studies

280.Zheng Guan, MSt. Global and Imperial History, 2015/6

281.Chris Whitehouse, BA History & Politics, First Year

282.Lucy Graham, D.Phil., graduated 2011

283.Tyler Journeaux Graham, M.St. Philosophical Theology, Department of Theology and Religion, first year (2015-2016)

284.Anwesha Sengupta, MPhil. Modern South Asian Studies

285.Sarah Bufkin, DPhil in Politics

286.Alex MacFarlane, DPhil Oriental Studies 2019

287.Amaal Akhtar, MSc. Contemporary India (2015)

288.Jennifer van Leijen-Cowasji Alumni of Utrecht University and the University of East London

289.Emma Brunskill-Powell, MSc Comparative Social Policy, 2016

290.Shahnawaz Ali Raihan, Dphil in History (2013-16)

Student Societies and Institutions

291.Rhodes Must Fall

292.Corpus Christi College Equal Opportunities Committee

293.Oxford University Student Union's Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality

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5. Statement in support of the teaching and student community of Jawaharlal Nehru University (by Japanese scholars working on India)

(This statement is issued in our individual capacities, and does not represent the opinion of any institution.)

We, the undersigned members from various educational, research and teaching institutions in Japan are deeply concerned and disturbed by the recent situation in Jawaharlal Nehru University.

As a premier institution of learning in the world, JNU has made very significant contributions to teaching and research. It has research collaborations with academic institutions all over the world, and is celebrated as an important and vibrant space for critical thinking and democratic expression. Unfortunately in consequence of recent events these values, collaborations, and the reputation of Jawaharlal Nehru University appear to be under threat.

In this difficult hour, we request the Indian government to uphold the freedom of speech that is essential to any national institution of Higher Education and ask that they endeavour to ensure the continued autonomy and functioning of the University.

Signatures:

1. Rohan D’Souza, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University
2. Akio Tanabe, Professor, Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University
3. Aya Ikegame, Associate Professor, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo
4. Etsuro Ishigami, Professor, Faculty of Commerce, Fukuoka University
5. Fumiko Oshikawa, Japanese Association of South Asian Studies, Emeritus Professor, Kyoto University
6. Kazuya Nakamizo, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University
7. Ines G. Zupanov, Professor/Director, Centre d'etudes de l'Inde et Asie du Sud (CNRS-EHESS), Paris (currently visiting professor at Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo)
8. Jun Obi, Lecturer, The Faculty of Intenational Relations, Daitobunka University
9. Ayumu, Yasutomi, Professor, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo
10. Kyoko Matsukawa, Associate Professor, Faculty of Letters, Konan University
11. Atsushi Kato, Professor, School of Business, Aoyama Gakuin University
12. Tsukasa, Mizushima, Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, Tokyo University
13. Sae Nakamura, Research Associate, Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University
14. Yu Sasaki, Independent Scholar.
15. Heiji Nakamura, Emeritus Professor, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
16. Mari Miyamoto, Newton Fellow, SOAS South Asia Institute, SOAS
17. Makiko Kimura, Associate Professor, Department of International and Cultural Studies, Tsuda College
18. Kenta Funahashi, Research Associate, Center for the Study of Contemporary India, Ryukoku University

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6. Statement of solidarity by Noam Chomsky, Orhan Pamuk, and others

We have learnt of the shameful act of the Indian government which, invoking sedition laws formulated by India’s colonial rulers, ordered the police to enter the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus and unlawfully arrest a student leader, Mr. Kanhaiya Kumar, on charges of inciting violence --without any proof whatever of such wrongdoing on his part.

From the reports of a large number of witnesses and the most highly respected journalists in the country, these are the known facts that no impartial observer denies: In a student meeting, acting well within the rights he possesses by the law of the land, Mr. Kumar spoke critically of the BJP government’s policies. On the previous day, at some other event which he had no part in organising and at which he did not speak, a handful of other students, not even identifiable as students of the university, were shouting slogans about the rights of Kashmiris to independence from Indian military oppression over the last many decades.  Mr. Kumar, whose speech (widely available on a video) cannot in any way be connected with the slogans uttered on the previous day, was nonetheless arrested for ‘anti-national’ behaviour and for violating the sedition laws against the incitement to violence. Since there is no evidence to establish these charges, we can only conclude that this arrest is further evidence of the present government’s deeply authoritarian nature, intolerant of any dissent, setting aside India’s longstanding commitment to toleration and plurality of opinion, replicating the dark times of an oppressive colonial period and briefly of the Emergency in the mid-1970s.

These actions of the police have brought great dishonour to the government; and the failure of the Vice-Chancellor to speak out against these actions and moreover to allow the suspension of seven other students on charges that have not been established by a fair and transparent inquiry, will bring great dishonour to the most prominent university in the country in the eyes of the academy all over the world.

We, the undersigned, take a stand of heartfelt solidarity with the students and faculty of Jawaharlal Nehru University in their efforts to resist these developments on its campus and, in the name of the liberties that India and Indian universities until recently could take for granted, we not only condemn the culture of authoritarian menace that the present government in India has generated, but urge all those genuinely concerned about the future of India and Indian universities to protest in wide mobilisation against it.

Signed by:

1. Noam Chomsky, Emeritus Professor of Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
2. Orhan Pamuk, Nobel Laureate, Turkey
3. Jonathan Cole, Former Provost of Columbia University, USA
4. Judith Butler, Professor of Linguistics, University of California, Berkeley
5. Richard N. Zare, Professor of Chemistry, Stanford University, USA
6. Robert Wade, Professor of International Development, London School of Economics, UK
7. Akeel Bilgrami, Professor of Philosophy, Columbia University, USA
8. Dimitri Papadimitriou, Director, Levy Institute, Bard College, USA
9. Mriganka Sur, Professor of Neuroscience, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
10. Jan Breman, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Amsterdam University, The Netherlands,
11. Sanat Kumar, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, USA
12. Sheldon Pollock, Professor of Sanskrit, Columbia University, USA
13. Barbara Harriss-White, Emerita Professor of Development Studies, Oxford University, UK
14. Partha Chatterjee, Professor of Anthropology, Columbia University, USA.
15. N. V. Ramana, Professor of Physics, Princeton University, USA
16. James Galbraith, Professor of Economics, University of Texas at Austin, USA
17. Charles Taylor, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, McGill University, Canada
18. Servaas Storm, Professor of Economics, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
19. Arjun Appadurai, Professor of Media, Culture and Communication, New York University, USA.
20. Alicia Puyana Mutis, Professor of Economics, Flacso, Mexico.
21. Robert Pollin, Professor of Economics, University of Amherst at Massachusetts, USA
22. Juan Carlos Moreno Brid, Professor of Economics, Universidad National de Mexico, USA
23. Gerald Epstein, Professor of Economics, University of Amherst at Massachusetts, USA
24. Pasuk Phongpaichit, Emerita Professor, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok Thailand.
25. Kanti Rai, leading leukemia specialist, USA
26. Gauri Vishwanathan, Professor of English, Columbia University, USA
27. Ha-Joon Chang, University of Cambridge, UK
28. Jennie Traschen, Professor of Physics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA
29. David Kastor, Associate Head of Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA
30. Ugo Pagano, Professor of Economics, Università degli Studi di Siena, Italy
31. Mira Nair, Film Director
32. Ozlem Onaran, Professor of Economics, University of Greenwich, UK
33. Engelbert Stockhammer, Professor of Economics, University of Bristol, UK
34. Gary Dymski, Professor of Applied Economics, University of Leeds, UK
35. Arjun Jayadev, University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA.
36. Elissa Braunstein, Colorado State University, USA
37. Alicia Giron, Universidad National de Mexico, USA
38. Daniele Tori, University of Greenwich, UK
39. Pablo Bortz, Universirty of San Martin, Beunos Aires, Argentina
40. Daniela Gabor, UWE Bristol, UK
41. Annina Kaltenbrunner, University of Leeds, UK
42. J.George Waardenburg, Emeritus professor in development economics at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
43. Fernando J. Cardim de Carvalho, Emeritus Professor, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
44. Mario Tonveronachi, Università degli Studi di Siena, Italy
45. Jan Kregel, Director of Research, Levy Institute, Bard College, USA
46. Thomas Ferguson, University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA
47. Malcolm Sawyer, Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Leeds, UK
48. Thea Harvey-Barratt, Levy Institute, Bard College, USA
49. Amrita Chhachhi, International Institute of Social Studies, The Hague Netherlands
50. Noemi Levy, Universidad National de Mexico, USA
51. Ilhan Dogus, University of Hamburg, Germany
52. Edward Fullbrook, Executive Director, World Economics Association
53. Brendan Burchell, University of Cambridge, UK
54. Vamsi Vakulabharanam, Professor of Economics, University of Amherst at Massachusetts, USA
55. Sripad Motiram, University of Massachusetts at Bosto, USA
56. Stefano Zambelli, Universita di Trento, Italy
57. Andrew B. Tylecote, Emeritus Professor, University of Sheffield, UK
58. Jing Cai, University of Aberdeen, Scotland
59. Julian Wells, Kingston University, UK
60. Mehmet Kerem Coban, Lee Kuan Yew Institute of Public Policy, National University of Singapore
61. Andres Lazzarini, University of San Martin, Argentina
62. Radha Upadhyaya, University of Nairobi, Kenya
63. Riccardo Bellofiors, Universita di Bergamo, Italy
64. Carolina Alves, University of London
65. Pritam Singh, Oxford Brookes University, UK
66. Stephanie Seguino, University of Vermont, USA
67. Nicolas Pons-Vignon, EHSS, Paris
68. Sergio Cesarotto, Universita di Siena, Italy
69. Tomas Rotta, University of Greenwich, UK
70. Robin Blackburn, Cullman Fellow, New York Public Library
71. David Freedberg, Director, Warburg Institute, University of London
72. Mario Seccareccia, University of Ottowa, Canada
73. Jens Lerche, University of London, UK
74. Kevin Gallagher, Boston University, USA
75. Maria Cristina Marcuzzo, Università di Roma "La Sapienza", Italy
76. Pascal Petit, University of Sorbonne, Paris France
77. Deepankar Basu, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA.
78. María Cecilia Ainciburu, Università degli Studi di Siena, Italy
79. Eugenia Correa, Universidad Nacional de Mexico, Mexico City
80. Wendy Olsen, Professor of Socio-Economics, University of Manchester, UK
81. Radhika Balakrishnan, Rutgers University, USA
82. Eduardo Strachman, Sao Paulo State University, Brazil
83. Wesley Colin Marshall, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Iztapalapa, Mexico
84. Trevor Evans, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Germany
85. Terrence McDonough, National University of Ireland, Galway
86. Rod O’Donnell, University of Sydney, Australia

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7. Stanford University extends solidarity to JNU

We, the undersigned students, alumni, and faculty of Stanford University, stand in solidarity with students and faculty of JNU. We strongly condemn the unconstitutional and undemocratic arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar and the continuing police action on the JNU campus. We demand that the government release Kanhaiya Kumar immediately, and drop all charges against him. We demand the cessation of all legal proceedings against Umar Khalid, Rama Naga, Anant Prakash, Ashutosh Kumar and Anirban Bhattacharya, and that they be provided security against the violence of the Hindu Right.

During the past week, we followed the state's use of archaic colonial laws of sedition to clamp down on political dissent. We were dismayed by the JNU administration's complicity in allowing the police to enter campus and search hostels goes against the autonomy of the university, which was designed precisely to ensure freedom of political dissent. The continuing action by the JNU administration against students reveals their complicity with the Hindu Right. The Indian mass media's demonisation of student political activity has not only carried and propagated the state's autocratic brief, but has granted legitimacy to the ensuing violence against students. The subsequent attacks on students and faculty at the Patiala House court by goons dressed as lawyers confirmed the nexus between the state, Hindu Right, and administrative bodies (such as the one at JNU university).

The events at JNU are not unique. They are one amongst a series of larger attempts to curb freedoms, by outlawing political organizations including those on campus, as well as slowly undermine central educational institutions which accelerates the shift towards privatisation of education. In Kanhaiya Kumar's arrest on the ludicrous charge of sedition, we hear echoes of the temporary derecognition of the Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle at IIT-Madras, and the institutional murder of Rohith Vemula. In those instances too, we saw the presence of the state-Hindu Right-university nexus that curbed political freedom.

As our friends at the University of Chicago noted in their solidarity statement, the nationalism advocated by the Hindu Right is predicated on imagining an enemy. “Its political program imagines the citizen as upper caste, heterosexual, male, Hindu; its economic program necessitates a blind faith in neoliberalism; and its social program continually imagines an enemy – the Muslim, the Dalit, the Left.” It is this imagined “enemy” of the Hindu Right that faces the risk of being labelled “anti-national” every time there is political dissent. We protest the actions of  the present BJP government because we do not agree with them that only upper-caste heterosexual, Hindu men are entitled to citizenship rights. This is a dire situation for us, the citizens of India, that demands we rally around the specific case of JNU even as we resist the larger project of the Hindu Right. We would do well to bear in mind Kanhaiya Kumar's reminder that “we don’t need a certificate of patriotism from the RSS.”

As students and teachers, we value above all freedom of thought and action. We cherish the space for critical thinking, open discourse and political dissent that universities offer. Opening up room for disagreement and the free flow of ideas is not a by-product of the educational process, but its very essence.

We, the undersigned students, alumni, and faculty of Stanford University, stand in solidarity with the students and faculty of JNU.

Signed by:

1. Megha Patnaik, PhD Student, Department of Economics
2. Mayukh Samanta, MS&E alumnus, Class of 2015
3. Jisha Menon, Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dept. of Theater and Performance Studies
4. Vivek V. Narayan, Graduate Student, Dept. of Theater and Performance Studies
5. Thomas Blom Hansen, Reliance-Dhirubhai Ambani Professor in South Asian Studies and Professor in Anthropology; Director, Stanford’s Center for South Asia
6. Sadhana Senthilkumar, Undergraduate Student
7. Rush Rehm, Professor, Dept. of Theater and Performance Studies, and Classics; and Artistic Director, Stanford Repertory Theater (SRT)
8. Trisha Shetty, Undergraduate Student
9. Shiv Vadivelalagan, Dept. of International Policy Studies
10. Anunay Kulshrestha, Undergraduate Student
11. Luladay Price, Undergraduate Student
12. Anubha Anushree, Dept. of History
13. Japsimran Kaur, Undergraduate Student
14. Milind Rao, Graduate student, Department of Electrical Engineering
15. Adeel Arif, MS, MS&E '12
16. Asha Chigurupati, Stanford Alumnus, Class of 2015
17. Melanie Rodrigues, Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Surgery

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8. Letter of solidarity with JNU students and faculty from professionals, academics and artists in West Bengal

The recent forceful and spectacular big-media injunction on debating and ‘intellectualising’ issues of nationhood and its summary recommendation of the strict enforcement of executive police rule as substitute of such debate has probably been etched deep in the minds of many a primetime news-viewer in our country. We, the undersigned, are writing this note to strongly disagree with this unsolicited injunction that seeks to exorcise all oppositional opinion and thus fundamentally imperils the practice of democracy in this country. This attempt at curbing strains of opposition lies also at the heart of the recent chain of reactions of the ruling coalition and the central government to a purportedly “cultural programme” which was to be held at JNU on the 9th of February to publicly discuss the question of Kashmiri self-determination. What follows in this note hopes to vindicate our right but also our duty to hold such oppositional views and presents our claims and demands concerning the recent series of events surrounding JNU.

As stated time and again, the intention of the students organising the event of 9th February was to continue the discussions and debates on Kashmir’s political character and on the morality of capital punishment in a civilised nation. We find the alarmism surrounding this event both after and before it was going to be held to be motivated by a sinister design. The sustenance of such debates in the public discourse of the nation-state is of course only to be expected as they were initiated by none other than the founding figures of the nation and the republic – Ambedkar, Gandhi, Tagore and Nehru. The central government’s decades-long policy of governing the region through a draconian law like the AFSPA is at odds with the basic principles of democracy and federalism. But the imposition of AFSPA also by itself draws attention to Kashmir’s specific status within the Indian union. The consequent circumstances of instability and mass discontent in the region provoke us constantly to interrogate the ‘mainstream’ nationalist resolution of the ‘Kashmir question’, especially because ‘Kashmir’ erupts and raises its ‘problematic’ head not so infrequently through news of militancy and militarism in our everyday life. Moreover, when school textbooks of history and political science in India still present Kashmir as a ‘problem’, it should not come as a surprise that the students of a premier university of the nation would also want to engage with this ‘problem’ in their own capacities.

In more recent times, no matter what its scale, the tumult in the public sphere after Afzal Guru’s hanging in 2013 re-invoked this already-existing public discourse. More recently, the ultra-nationalist organisations of our country such as the RSS/BJP have made their wish clear many a time to revoke the special status of Kashmir accorded by the article 370 of the Indian Constitution. Historically speaking, this is a view that does not enjoy the unanimous support of even the country’s political elite, let alone the masses, as for instance, Nehru himself repeatedly agreeing to the demand for a referendum on Kashmir. One must in such a situation ask under what circumstances the Indian nation-state acceded to the demand for a referendum on the question of self-determination of Kashmir at different conjunctures. Also, what made it backtrack from such a fundamental enunciation of popular sovereignty as a referendum that has been in wide practice the world over and most recently in United Kingdom and Scotland. Such more immediate circumstances clearly compel us to argue for keeping the debate concerning Kashmir alive in our public life. One may or may not support the Kashmiri demand for self-determination, but we do no doubt that the nation-state must at least acknowledge and accommodate the debates on this issue and has been doing so in certain ways for a long time now. How is it possible then to incriminate as ‘seditious’ the efforts by the concerned students at JNU to retrieve some such apparently forgotten questions of our democracy and rearticulate them in the current context of majoritarian assertions all over the nation?

We thus opine that the concerned JNU students were trying nothing exceptional but to continue to practice critical thinking about these problems inherent in the foundational structures of the nation-state in the form of a public programme. We affirm strongly both their rights as well as their intentions in doing so.

What seems to have become inextricably entangled with this latest version of public engagement with the ‘Kashmir debate’ is the problem of branding the ‘anti-national’. Not the greatest retrospection is required to perceive that this impromptu classificatory schema is of course not limited to debating the Kashmir issue. It goes well beyond that and has been shown in reports and opinions circulating about JNU to include beef-eating, ‘queer’ sexualities, dalit forms of worship, secular atheist thinking, advocacy of tribal rights and myriad other things. Such practices and opinions are being termed ‘anti-national’ even as the government seeks to allot and sell substantial national resources to big multi-national corporations and while the ruling party’s allies celebrate the spirit of Nathuram Godse, the murderer of the ‘Father of the Nation’.

The only ‘national’ or the ‘nationalist’ permitted and promoted by the ruling ideology of the BJP/RSS is the patriarchal-Brahmanical-upper class and all other forms which do not subscribe to this ideology are to be labelled, hunted, surveilled and ‘put down’ as ‘anti-nationals’ or even ‘terrorists’. The BJP leader who has been seen on camera thrashing and abusing the JNU professors and journalists at the Patiala Court, has justified his actions as ‘teaching a strict lesson to the anti-nationals’ and argued that the ‘anti-nationals’ should not only be beaten up, but there is no harm in killing them too! We condemn such heinous statements and provocations to mob-violence against the critics of the BJP/RSS and the current central government. To us, these statements seem more than empty threats at a time when M.M. Kalburgi, Gobind Pansare, Narendra Dabholkar, Rohith Vemula and Soni Sori – all faces of dissent – have indeed been murdered or harmed by ‘nationalist’ saffron terrorists.  

It then seems quite apparent to us that the use of the term ‘anti-national’ is the highest point of a frantic drive for Brahmanical cultural homogenisation of the nation by the BJP/RSS/ABVP. All difference and even the minimal articulation of dissent are now gradually being brought into the ambit of the ‘anti-national’ category. Added to this is the categorical denial of evidence and information rights by the highest offices of the country that is making ‘anti-national’ a surprisingly self-evident category beyond any interpretation. Thus the Home Ministry, in direct collusion often with certain big media channels has been of late firing a battery of baseless charges against university students most irresponsibly. This is lending further legitimacy and incitement to the quite well-organised mobocracy of the extended Sangh Parivar. The latter is quite easily finding further inspiration to disrupt essential legal procedures in courts and deal with ‘anti-nationals’ as they deem ‘fit’. This tactic of intimidation is duplicated by none other than the law enforcing agency i.e. the police. It is little wonder then that the National Human Rights Commission has already found out that a written statement made by Kumar in court was produced under pressure from the police. This brings back memories of Afzal Guru’s own confession that is claimed by some to have been extracted under duress by law enforcement.

In such circumstances, we would like to register our strong criticism of the most conceited ideological use of the term ‘anti-national’ in media and by the state to imbue images, videos and information with an immediacy of a judgment, thoroughly unfounded in most cases and leading up to direct forms of intimidation of dissenters with exemplary impunity. Within this kind of conceited use of the term ‘anti-national’ is embedded once again, an urgency to dismantle precisely those very pillars of public debate that lend strength to our democratic system and culture.

Recent events at JNU have also compelled us to contemplate on a much bigger question. For the Delhi police, a section of media, BJP/RSS – both the government executives and party leaders – and ABVP the act of organising a debate on Afzal Guru’s hanging in itself is an ‘anti-national’ act because it ‘questioned’ the decision finalised by the Supreme Court, the highest judicial body of the nation-state. In this context, we ask the following: Is having a difference of opinion with the apex court necessarily a ‘contempt of court’ even in strictly legal terms? Can such differing opinion be branded as ‘anti-national’ simply by way of its divergence from the court’s views? In a democracy, shouldn’t there be a space for debate on court verdicts too? Is it ‘anti-national’ or ‘anti-judiciary’ to extend the discourse on ‘justice’ beyond the immediate surroundings and formal networks of the judiciary? Does contemplating ‘justice’ in other forms and outside the arena of state-institutions always present a threat to ‘national sovereignty’ and are therefore to be declared ‘treason’?

In the context of increasing acts of ‘media trials’ orchestrated and ‘popular justice’ delivered, we want to strongly affirm that discussions and dialogues on the notion of ‘justice’, especially in respect to the question of ‘minority aspirations’, is utmost crucial for the future life of our democracy. All acts of ‘vengeance’ in the name of ‘justice’ must be condemned. Many eminent lawyers, scholars, Human Rights and civil society activists and Muslim clerics have questioned the gaping holes in the trial and appeal process of Afzal Guru as well as the gross violation of his constitutional rights and due legal processes in carrying out the punishment. One must not also forget here the absurdities of the present-day coalition politics of our nation: the so-called ‘nationalist’ BJP, which in Delhi is gunning for strong actions against the JNU students who organised the event in commemoration of the death of Afzal Guru and branding them ‘anti-nationals’, is in fact in an alliance with PDP in the Kashmir state assembly, the party which too eulogises Afzal Guru as a Kashmiri martyr! One must also take note of BJP’s silence on the issue of Balwant Singh Rajoana’s capital punishment – the Khalistani separatist who is accused for the 1995 assassination of the Punjab CM Beant Singh – against which another ally of them, the Akali Dal has already appealed!

We would like to further claim that the Judicial Process in India does not necessarily invite any kind of obvious foreclosure in its institutional functioning. Instead it fosters the potential for a certain degree of latitude in terms of appeals and amendments that are themselves co-dependent on the state of public debate in the country. We may debate on the most acceptable form of these debates or the style of their utterances, but we must never support the acts of forceful and even militarised suppressions or any kind of policing of them by the super-active executive with its totalitarian aspirations. These debates, we believe, aid in the process of strengthening institutions, procedures and meanings of justice. And it is in re-invoking this spirit of debate that we would want to register our own belief, however ‘fringe’ or ‘marginal’ that might sound: We are against the capital punishment – we do not think that a modern, civilised nation-state should have any legal right to kill its citizen, even if s/he is found to be engaged in ‘anti-national’ activities.

We want to also pose here one last important question thrown up by the events of the last few days – How can a nation-state ‘progress’ if it doesn’t keep amending its constitution according to changing circumstances and the demands of time and people? And how is that even possible without questioning the tenets of the existing constitution? Does that amount to being ‘anti-constitutional’? Then how is any change possible without being ‘anti-constitutional’ or ‘anti-national’? If so, aren’t many of the leaders of the ruling party also anti-nationals in as far as they want to revoke the special autonomous status of Kashmir granted by the Article 370 or argue in the parliament against the validity of the word ‘secular’ in Indian constitution as a descriptive character of the Indian nation-state. Leaving this question open here, let us clearly state our demands made in solidarity with the protesting teachers and students of JNU:

• Revoke all cases of sedition or otherwise against all students of JNU

• Revoke all disciplinary procedure and action against all students of JNU

• Restore normalcy for students living in JNU and outside

• Stop the witch-hunt of innocent students of Kashmiri and minority descent in Delhi and outside

1. Priyankar Dey, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
2. Ritam Sengupta, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
3. Sayantan Saha Roy, University of Chicago
4. Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
5. Iman Mitra, Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group
6. Anwesha Sengupta. Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group and Jawaharlal Nehru University
7. Sabyasachi Deb, Writer
8. Ratna Deb, Retired school-teacher
9. Asokendu Sengupta
10. Ranabir Samaddar, Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group
11. Paula Banerjee, University of Calcutta and Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group
12. Moushumi Bhowmik, Singer and writer
13. Neogi Sengupta, Barasat Government College
14. Upal Chakrabarti, Presidency University
15. Swati Chatterjee, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
16. Vikas Kumar Moola, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
17. Uday Bhanu Saini, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
18. Arunima Chakraborty, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
19. Richa Gupta, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
20. Chesta Arora, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
21. Rukmini Chakraborty, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
22. Anurupa Bhowmick, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
23. Tony Kurian, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
24. Santosh Sakhinala, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
25. Rajashree Bhattacharya, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
26. Debajyoti Mondal, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
27. Koyel Lahiri, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
28. Rohan Basu, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
29. Praskanva Sinharay, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
30. Ankur Tamuli Phukan, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
31. Arup Kumar Sen, Serampore College
32. Subhadeep Sarker, Serampore College
33. Jishnu Dasgupta, Serampore College
34. Debajyoti Banerjee, Serampore College
35. Sankha Das, Serampore College
36. Moumie Banerjee, Serampore College
37. Monideepa Bhattacharjee, Serampore College
38. Samik Ray, Serampore College
39. Arindam Dutta, Taki Government College
40. Shubhankur Ghosh, Photographer
41. Shan Bhattacharya, Researcher
42. Antara Ray, Graphic designer
43. Mimasa Pandit, St. Paul’s Cathedral Mission College
44. Kaustubh Mani Sengupta, Bankura University
45. Shrimoy Roy Chowdhury, Shiv Nadar University
46. Anandaroop Sen, Jawaharlal Nehru University
47. Twisha Deb, Photographer
48. Ronny Sen, Photographer
49. Arka Chattopadhyay, University of West Sydney
50. Abhimanyu Kar, IIT Kharagpur
51. Manjira Sinha, IIT Kharagpur
52. Samata Biswas, Haldia Government College
53. Shinjini Basu, Sir Gurudas Mahavidyalaya
54. Debaditya Bhattacharya, Nibedita College
55. Bhaskar Chaudhuri, Serampore College
56. Nilanjan Chatterjee, Serampore College
57. Saubhik Dasgupta, Serampore College
58. Patrali Sinha, Serampore College
59. Sharmita Dhar, Serampore College
60. Suman Dutta, Serampore College
61. Bidyut Banerjee, Serampore College
62. Madhurilata Basu, Presidency University
63. Rupsa Ray, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta and journalist
64. Tista Das, West Bengal Education Service
65. Saubhik Bandyopadhyay, West Bengal Education Service

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9. Statement from academicians in Gujarat

We, members of the academic community of Gujarat, are extremely disturbed by the recent events in Jawaharlal Nehru University and the developments thereafter. We feel worried about the emerging dangers against the right to dissent and freedom of speech.

We believe that the disturbances in JNU including slogans against India could have been easily avoided without the moral policing by political forces. The demonstrations could have been patently handled by the vice chancellor - if necessary by setting up an internal committee to investigate. We firmly believe that the freedom of academic institutions is an essential condition for knowledge promotion and sharpening discourses, as academic institutions of higher learning are the embodiment of thought, science, creativity, knowledge and critique, and there cannot be an upfront limitation on their power to think and express. This freedom should not have been violated by the government or any outside forces.

We are shocked to watch the behaviour of the lawyers, who took the law in their hands and attacked students, teachers, journalists and even Supreme Court Panel members. Equally shocking was the behaviour of the Delhi Police, who supported lawyers by watching it as mute spectators. The misuse of the sedition law and outright violence of lawyers worry us, as they signal a great danger to our human rights and democratic values.

We demand impartial inquiry into the events that have taken place in JNU and in the Patiala House Court and punishment to the guilty when necessary.

We want that the right to speech and the right to dissent are ensured to all citizens of our country.  Nationalism evolves gradually with the progress in democracy and growth of egalitarian society; and we believe that its interpretation should not be left to political parties. At the same time, free discussion on nationalism particularly in academic institutes must be encouraged.

Signed by:

Members of academic community of Gujarat (Date: February 22, 2016)

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