We, the undersigned members of Cornell University strongly condemn the arbitrary, unconstitutional, and anti-democratic actions which have been taken against the students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in India. We demand an immediate end to all police action on campus, a withdrawal of all frivolous charges against the President of the JNU Students' Union, Kanhaiya Kumar, and an end to the campaign of harassment and intimidation against students at the university.
That Kanhaiya Kumar is being held on account of sedition, a product of an archaic and colonial-era law (IPC 124A), is shocking and abhorrent. The existence and validity of this law in India has been called into question time and again. This incident reinforces the need to reconsider its continued existence in the Indian constitution.
The agenda of the present Indian government to create a homogeneous discourse of nationalism that privileges an upper caste, Hindu, male worldview is particularly worrisome. There has been a pattern of marginalization and suppression of minority views and dissent. The deliberate targeting of Umar Khalid, and other students as 'anti-national Muslim terrorists' is in keeping with the agenda of the state to create and fight false enemies. This is a dangerous trend and completely antithetical to the democratic and secular ethos that India stands for.
There has been an attempt to brand all students and faculty of JNU as anti-national. This is creating an environment of terror. People are getting arrested and beaten because they look like JNU students, and there is continuous presence of a violent mob at the JNU gates. There have been violent attacks on JNU faculty, reporters, and Kanhaiya Kumar inside the Patiala House court complex, not once but twice, with the police standing by as silent spectators. In addition, the sexual harassment of women protesters (both students and faculty) is repugnant and highly condemnable.
We believe that universities are places of debate, discussion, and dissent for people belonging to various backgrounds and ideologies. This attack on the students of JNU is an attempt to stop any kind of political discourse and discussion in university campuses and among students in India. This is in line with a pattern of state repression that has been visible in other Indian campuses like the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), University of Hyderabad, and most recently in Jadavpur University. We stand in solidarity with the ongoing students' movement in JNU to protect campus democracy, autonomy, and the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression. We admire the teacher-student solidarity in JNU in the the wake of these protests, and are inspired by it. We extend our wholehearted support to this struggle against state repression in academic spaces.
- Debak Das, Government, Graduate
- Reet Chaudhuri, Applied and Engineering Physics, Graduate
- Andi Kao, ILR,Graduate
- Shiuli Vanaja, Applied Economics, Graduate
- Disha Mendhekar, City and Regional Planning, Graduate
- Rumela Sen, Government, Graduate
- Nidhi Mahajan, Anthropology, Faculty
- Arwa Awan, History, Undergraduate
- Yagna Nag Chowdhuri , Asian Studies, Graduate
- Shivrang Setlur, History, Graduate
- Jeff Mathias, Science and Technology Studies, Graduate
- James Ingoldsby, English, Graduate
- Geethika Dharmasinghe, Asian Studies, Graduate
- Bhavya Paliwal, Applied Economics, Graduate
- Shubha Bharadwaj, CIPA, Graduate
- Shreya Bhardwaj, CIPA, Graduate
- Pratiti Deb, Physics, Undergraduate
- Kareem Hamdy, Applied & Engineering Physics Alumnus
- Nazli Konya, Government, Graduate
- Archishman Raju, Physics, Graduate
- Tiffany Fotopoulos, Undergraduate
- Charis Boke, Anthropology, Graduate
- Jesse Goldberg, English, Graduate
- Kevin Duong, Government, Graduate
- Ti-Yen Lan, Physics, Graduate
- Tripti Poddar, Public Administration, Graduate
- Marc Kohlbry, Comparative Literature, Graduate
- Alana Staiti, Science and Technology Studies, Graduate
- Ed Quish, Government, Graduate
- Paul Ahrens, ILR School, Graduate
- Divya Sharma, Development Sociology, Graduate
- Tanvi Rao, Applied Economics, Graduate
- Michaela Brangan, English, Graduate
- Sena Aydin, Anthropology, Graduate
- Sam Whitehead, Physics, Graduate
- Philip S Burnham, Physics, Graduate
- Van Tran, Government, Graduate
- Naoki Sakai, Asian Studies, Faculty
- Tim Vasko, Government, Graduate
- Jacob Swanson, Government, Graduate
- Robert Lincoln Hines, Government, Graduate
- Michael Jones-Correa, Government, Faculty
- Mitul Dey Chowdhury, Physics, Undergraduate
- Stephen Roblin, Government, Graduate
- Kaitlin Emmanuel, South Asian Studies, Graduate
- Hao Shi, Physics
- James Sethna, Physics
- Andre Keiji Kunigami, Asian Studies, Graduate
- Natalie Nesvaderani, Anthropology, Graduate
- Katherine Quinn, Physics
- Pauliina Patana, Government, Graduate
- Jose Sanchez-Gomez, Government
- Nandini, CIPA, Graduate
- Xavier Eddy, Industrial and Labor Relations, Undergraduate
- Martijn Mos, GOVT, Graduate
- Gargi Wable, Nutrition, Graduate
- Youyi Zhang, Government, Graduate
- Jimena Valdez, Government, Graduate
- Brinda Kumar, History of Art, Alumna
- Colin Chia, Government, Graduate
- Elizabeth Acorn, Government,Graduate
- Margaret Jodlowski, Applied Econ and Management,Graduate
- Anne Raccuglia, Art, Graduate
- Natasha Bissonauth, Art History, Graduate
- Hayden Kantor, Anthropology, Graduate
- Gustavo Quintero, Romance Studies, Graduate
- Lara Fresko, History of Art and Visual Studies, Graduate
- Iftikhar Dadi, History of Art, Faculty
- Aye Min Thant, Asian Studies, Graduate
- Stephanie Clark, AAP, Graduate
- Whitney Taylor, Government, Graduate
- Sadia Shirazi, History of Art and Visual Studies, Graduate
- Prabudhya Bhattacharyya, Physics, Undergraduate
- Sibyl Ashcraft-Holt, Classics, Undergraduate
- Rebecca John, FGSS, Alumna
- Ian MacCormack, Physics, Undergraduate
- Christina Zhang, History, Alumna
- Daniel Brinkerhoff Young, Philosophy, Alumna
- Veronica Pillar, Physics, Graduate
- Elliot Padgett, Applied and Engineering Physics, Graduate
- Lea Bonnefoy, Physics, Alumna
- Myne Okoukoni, Arts & Sciences, Alumna
- David Holmberg, Anthropology, Faculty
- Heidi Kaila, Economics, Visiting graduate student
- Megan Holtz, Applied and Engineering Physics, Graduate
- Manfred Elfstrom, Department of Government, Graduate
- José C., Department of Anthropology, Graduate
- James Siegel, Anthropology & Asian Studies, (retired) Faculty
- Rebekah Ciribassi, Anthropology, Graduate
- Tyler Takaro, Physics, Undergraduate
- Joseph Wraga, Physics, Alumna
- Farhana Ahmad, City and Regional Planning, Graduate
- Brenna Mockler, Physics, Undergraduate
- Anthony Santa Maria, Economics; Feminist gender and sexuality studies; Africana studies, Graduate
- Caroline Aust, Physics, Alumna
- Chelsea Cole, Archaeology, Masters
- Tom Davidson, Sociology, Graduate
- Daniel Freund, Applied Mathematics, Graduate
- Anurag Meshram, ILR, Masters
- Janet Smith, DSOC, Graduate
- Mel White, Engineering, Graduate
- Rohini Jalan, ILR School (OB Dept), Graduate
- Max McComb, History, Graduate
- Natalie Hofmeister, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Graduate
- Benjamin P Cohen, Biomedical Engineering, Graduate
- Ewan Robinson, Development Sociology, Graduate
- Airlia Shaffer, Physics, Alumna
- Laura Menchaca Ruiz, Anthropology, Graduate
- Valeria Dani, Romance Studies, Graduate
- Brian Clarke, Science & Technology Studies, Graduate
- Kelsey Utne, History, Graduate
- Sarah Portway, Fiber Science and Apparel Design, Graduate
- Lizabeth McKinney, ILR, Graduate
- Kristie McAlpine, ILR Human Resource, Graduate
- Molly Reed, History, Graduate
- Vincent Burgess, Asian Studies, Graduate
- Marcela Villarreal, Food Science, Graduate
- Sara Keene, Development Sociology, Graduate
- Asli Menesve, Art History, Graduate
- Nicholas Huelster, Romance Studies, Graduate
- Kurt A. Jordan, Anthropology & American Indian Studies, Faculty
- Nick Krachler, Industrial and Labor Relations, Graduate
- Amanda Denham, FSAD, Graduate
- Vincent Hiscock, English, Graduate
- Sahar Tavakoli, Science and Technology Studies, Graduate
- Satya Mohanty, English, Faculty
- Chris Hesslbein, Science and Technology Studies, Graduate
- Durba Ghosh, History, Faculty
- Robert Travers, History, Faculty
- Anne Blackburn, Asian Studies, Faculty
- Bronwen Bledsoe, South Asia, Faculty
- Lucinda Ramberg, Anthropology, Faculty
- Katryn Evinson, Romance Studies, Graduate
- Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, Science and Technology Studies, Graduate
- Chris Hesselbein, STS, Graduate
- Olivia Duell, English and Feminist, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Alumna
- Ujani Chakraborty, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Graduate
- Madhura Raghavan, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Graduate
- Anaar Desai-Stephens, Music, Graduate
Student Organizations:
- Cornell Graduate Students United (Organizing and Steering Committees)
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