We, the undersigned members of Yale University, strongly condemn the recent actions of the Indian Government and the Delhi Police in curbing freedom of speech, violating civil rights and stifling dissent. We condemn the arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar, a student at Jawaharlal Nehru University, on charges of sedition, and condemn the use of this archaic colonial law which has no place in a functioning democracy. We condemn the attempt of the State to restrict free speech, particularly on a university campus, and endorse the rights of all Indians to exercise their freedom of speech as protected under the Indian Constitution. Finally, we condemn the continuing inaction of the Delhi police with regard to the assaults on Indian citizens inside the premises of the Patiala House Court. Not only did they stand as mute witnesses while the assaults took place, but they have also failed to move against the perpetrators of the violence, including members of the bar, despite video and audio recordings of the events being in the public domain.
We noted with grief the suicide of Rohith Vemula, a Dalit student at the University of Hyderabad who was accused of being 'anti-national' and subsequently ostracised, and the repression of protests led by the students of the Film and Television Institute of India. As lawyers, students and scholars from India, the United States of America and other parts of the world, we stand with the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, and support their right to an academic environment that is free of violence and enabling of dissent. We endorse the rights of all students and citizens to engage in political action and speech. We urge the Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Government of India and the Delhi Police to take steps against those who have perpetrated acts of violence against students, journalists and bystanders in Delhi. We call on them to ensure that Indian citizens may exercise their freedom of speech and their right to disagree and agree with each other, without fear of arrest or assault.
Signed (in our individual personal capacities):
1. Bhoomika Joshi, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
2. Johanna Lorenzo, LL.M. Candidate, Yale Law School
3. Jonathan Wyrtzen, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology
4. Julia Stephens, Assistant Professor, Department of History
5. Joyee Deb, Assistant Professor, Yale School of Management
6. Jordan Laris Cohen, J.D. Candidate, Yale Law School
7. Aria Thakker, Yale College '15
8. Abhijoy Mitra, Yale College
9. Shikhar Singh, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Political Science
10. Stefan Eich, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Political Science
11. Seda Palanduz, LL.M. Candidate, Yale Law School
12. Jacob Welch, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
13. Gabriel Winant, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History
14. Lindsay Branson, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History
15. Pratik Gandhi, Yale College
16. Chelsea Bowling, J.D. Candidate, Yale Law School
17. Matthew Archer, Ph.D. Candidate, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
18. Aisha Saad, J.D. Candidate, Yale Law School
19. Benjamin Bergmann, J.D. Candidate, Yale Law School
20. Rosie Bsheer, Assistant Professor, Department of History
21. Tariq Thachil, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science
22. Thania Sanchez, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science
23. Matthew Adam Kocher, Lecturer, Department of Political Science
24. CJ Kuncheria, Fox Fellow
25. Pedro Ramirez, J.D. Candidate, Yale Law School
26. Riddhima, Yale College
27. Narges Erami, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology
28. Myles Lenon, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
29. Amy Johnson, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
30. Ashwini Deo, Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics
31. Sameer Jaywant, J.D. Candidate, Yale Law School
32. Sreeja Kodali, Yale College
33. Kristin Plys, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Sociology
34. Ashish Mitter, LL.M Candidate, Yale Law School
35. Alyssa Paredes, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
36. Rhea Kumar, Yale College 2018
37. Anurag Sinha, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Political Science
38. Tiraana Bains, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History
39. Deepti Chatti, Ph.D. Candidate, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
40. Arash Ghiassi, J.D. Candidate, Yale Law School
41. Samar Al-Bulushi, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
42. Suparna Chaudhry, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Political Science
43. Souvanik Mullick, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
44. Bruce E Wexler, Professor, Yale School of Medicine
45. Chitra Ramalingam, Lecturer, Department of History
46. Shivakumar Venkatraman, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Economics
47. Mohammed Aatish Khan, Masters Candidate, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
48. Benedict Vischer, LL.M. Candidate, Yale Law School
49. Conor Walsh, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Economics
50. Zareena Grewal, Associate Professor, American Studies & Religious Studies
51. Steven Wilkinson, Professor, Department of Political Science
52. Martin Mattson, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Economics
53. Kartik S, Yale College
54. Juliana Ponde Fonseca, LL.M. Candidate, Yale Law School
55. Gregor Donaldson, Fox Fellow '15
56. Avinash Samarth, J.D. Candidate, Yale Law School
57. Emily Hays, Yale College
58. David Singh Grewal, Associate Professor, Yale Law School
59. Gaurav Chiplunkar, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Economics
60. Joanne Meyerowitz, Professor, Department of History & American Studies
61. Abigail Agresta, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History
62. Maya Menlo, J.D. Candidate, Yale Law School
63. Sara Smith, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
64. Kersi Shroff, Yale College '09
65. Shreyas R, Yale College
66. Nitika Khaitan, Yale College
67. Gabriela Morales, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
68. Eugenio Gomez-Chico, LL.M. Candidate, Yale Law School
69. David Rafael McCormick, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
70. Alda Yuan, J.D. Candidate, Yale Law School
71. Joshua Stanley, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English
72. Tif Shen, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Mathematics
73. Megha Ram, J.D. Candidate, Yale Law School
74. Deepti Pradhan, Associate Research Analyst, Yale University
75. Mohsin Alam, JSD '16
76. Inderpal Grewal, Professor, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
77. Tri Phuong, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
78. Isaac Nakhimovsky, Assistant Professor, Department of History and Humanities
79. Amanda Leiss, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
80. Alyssa Battistoni, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Political Science
81. Ashkhen Kazaryan, LL.M Candidate, Yale Law School
82. Cody Knapp, J.D. Candidate, Yale Law School
83. Greta LaFleur, Assistant Professor, Department of American Studies
84. Ceren Safak, MPH/MBA Candidate, School of Management
85. Laura Wexler, Professor, Department of American Studies
86. Sahana Ghosh, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
87. Neelima Sharma, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Material Sciences
88. Tram Luong, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
89. Luke Wagner, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Sociology
90. Ali Yawar, Ph.D. Candidate, Biomechanics and Control Lab
91. Harvey Weiss, Professor, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
92. Chandana Anusha, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
93. Ignacio Cofone, LL.M. Candidate, Yale Law School
94. Hari Ramesh, Ph.D. Candiate, Department of Political Science
95. Andrew Brown, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English
96. Alicia Schmidt Camacho, Professor of American Studies
97. Raeesa Vakil, LL.M. Candidate, Yale Law School
98. Phyllis Granoff, Professor, Department of Religious Studies
99. Daniel Markovits, Professor, Yale Law School
100. Gilad Abiri, LL.M. Candidate, Yale Law School
101. Lavanya Garg, Masters Candidate, International and Developmental Economics
102. Ana Beatriz Robalinho, LL.M. Candidate, Yale Law School
103. Rohit De, Assistant Professor, Department of History
104. Shalmoli Halder, Yale College '15
105. Hannah Schwarz, Yale College
106. Margaret Shultz, Yale College
107. Houriiyah Tegally, Yale College
108. Anna Lipin, Yale College
109. Roee Levy, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Economics
110. Shyamala Ramakrishna, Yale College
112. Rosa Vieira de Almeida, Ph.D. Candidate, East Asian Languages and Literatures
113. Christopher L. Miller, Professor, Department of African American Studies and French
114. Stephanie Ranks, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English
115. Rohan Naik, Yale College
116. Sahar Romani, Postdoctoral Associate
117. Nikunj Goel, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
118. Jesús Gutiérrez, Yale College
119. Cayla Broton, Yale College
120. Helene Cesbron Lavau, Yale College
121. Sweyn Venderbush, Yale College
122. Hiral Doshi, Yale College
123. Micaela Bullard, Yale College
124. Matthew Frye Jacobson, Professor, Department of American Studies and History
125. Birgit Brander Rasmussen, Assistant Professor, Department of American Studies
Institutional affiliations are stated for identification only.