Statement of Solidarity with Student Activists in India from activists and academics in the Pennsylvania region, USA
We, activists and academics in the Pennsylvania region, strongly condemn the attack on academic freedom at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. The arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar, the President of the JNU Students' Union, on charges of sedition has brought to light the intervention of the Union Government in the internal matters of the university. The repeated interference by police personnel at the behest of Vice Chancellors on university campuses is a draconian move. The charges against students were brought after an event organized by a section of students on campus premises to discuss the judicial execution of Afzal Guru. The JNU Students' Union was subsequently held responsible for the “anti-national” slogans that were chanted by a group of students. We condemn these trumped-up and unconstitutional charges and stand in solidarity with the efforts to repeal capital punishment in India.
The events unfolding at JNU reveal disturbing similarities with instances of government repression on other campuses. We remember, with distress, the actions of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) administration in cahoots with the Central Government, actions that led to the death of a promising Ambedkarite student-activist, Rohith Vemula. The protests that arose indicted the discriminatory atmosphere prevailing in our universities as tantamount to the denial of the fundamental right to education to socially marginalized groups. Further, the murder of social thinkers like Govind Pansare and M.M. Kalburgi by hyper-nationalist elements under the tacit encouragement of the policies of the Central Government has shocked all advocates of free speech in India.
The charges of sedition against students participating in democratic discussion of public events is highly objectionable. The stifling of voices through intimidation and muscle power does not bode well for educational institutions.
Debate and dissent are integral parts of a strong democracy. Universities are critical public spaces that support these democratic practices to realize the values of social justice enshrined in the ideals of the constitution. International campuses like JNU, FTII and UoH bring together diverse group of students in the spirit of self-reflexive and deep intellectual engagement to ask fundamental questions of their social realities. An attack on these institutions is an attack on this precious pedagogical space. Student movements in India in alliance with other social movements in the country have historically been a resilient and sensitive force. The BJP government's efforts to undermine them is nothing but an assault on Indian democracy. The government has failed to protect the rights of student bodies, and the highhandedness of the police highlights the insecurities of the present government.
In the United States during a presidential election year, we watch increasingly bigoted views against blacks, Muslims, and immigrants gaining ground. These events cannot be seen in isolation and we stand at the intersection of socio-political movements in the US and South Asia.
We stand in solidarity with students and faculty of JNU and demand the immediate release of the detained students. We appeal to all advocates for academic freedom in India and abroad to stand united against this state atrocity.
Anannya Bohidar, Graduate Student, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Ammel Sharon, Graduate Student, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Meghna Chandra, Philadelphia South Asian Collective
Ania Loomba, English, University of Pennsylvania
Projit Mukharji, History and Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania
Najnin Islam, Graduate Student, English, University of Pennsylvania
Suvir Kaul, English, University of Pennsylvania
Rallapalli Sundaram, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Teren Sevea, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Debjani Bhattacharyya, History, Drexel University
Kasturi Sen, Philadelphia South Asia Collective
Toorjo Ghose, Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania
Ishani Dasgupta, Graduate Student, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Shampa Chatterjee, Medical School, University of Pennsylvania
Lucas de Lima, Graduate Student, Comparative Literature, University of Pennsylvania
Sangeeta Banerji, Graduate Student, Geography, Rutgers University
Sarita Mizin, Graduate Student, English, Lehigh University
Aashish Gupta, Graduate Student, Demography, University of Pennsylvania
Shourjya Deb, Graduate Student, Public Policy and Administration, Rutgers University
Sugra Bibi, University of Pennsylvania
Samira Junaid, Graduate Student, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Nandita Chaturvedi, Graduate Student, Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania
Muhammed Malik, with Philadelphia South Asia Collective
Joshua Pien, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Sirus Joseph Libeiro, Graduate Student, School of Design, University of Pennsylvania
Sambuddha Chaudhuri, Graduate Student, School of Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania
Tanushree Bhan, Graduate Student, Public Policy and Public Affairs, University of Massachusetts Boston
Pooja Nayak, Graduate Student, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania.
Kaushik Ramu, Graduate Student, Comparative Literature, University of Pennsylvania
Darakhshan Khan, Graduate Student, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Timothy J. Loftus, Graduate Student, Religion, Temple University
Mercedes Yanora, Graduate Student, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Faisal I Chaudhry, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Sudev J Sheth, Graduate Student, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Brooke Stanley, Graduate Student, English, University of Pennsylvania
Melissa E. Sanchez, English, University of Pennsylvania
Hao Jun Tam, Graduate Student, English, University of Pennsylvania
David Kazanjian, English, University of Pennsylvania
Aaron Bartels-Swindells, Graduate Student, English, University of Pennsylvania
Manjita Mukharji, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Diksha Dhar, Graduate Student, Fulbright-Nehru Visiting Scholar, University of Pennsylvania
Faranak Miraftab, Urban and Regional Planning, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Timothy Lorndale, Graduate Student, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania.
Brittany Puller, Graduate Student, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania.
Philip Friedrich, Graduate Student, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania.
Dave Kussell, Undergraduate, Economic History, University of Pennsylvania.
Jared Weinstein, Undergraduate, Math, University of Pennsylvania.
Pushkar Sohoni, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania.
Akshay Walia, Graduate Student, Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania.
Lavanya Nott, Philadelphia South Asia Collective.
Leopold Eisenlohr, Graduate Student, Chinese, University of Pennsylvania.
Evelyn Soto, Graduate Student, English, University of Pennsylvania.
Johanna Greeson, Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania.
Julia Chatterjee, Undergraduate, South Asia Studies, University in Pennsylvania.
Josephine Park, English, University of Pennsylvania.
Priti Narayan, Graduate Student, Geography, Rutgers University.
Monidipa Mondal, Graduate Student, Rutgers University.
Baishakh Chakrabarti, Graduate Student, South Asia Studies, University of Pennsylvania.
Chao Guo, Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania.
Ram Cnaan, Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania.
Femida Handy, Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania.
Ezekiel Dixon-Roman, Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania.
Andrea Doyle, Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania.
Sheena Sood, Philadelphia South Asia Collective.
Rovel Sequeira, Graduate Student, English, University of Pennsylvania
Daniel Davies, Graduate Student, English, University of Pennsylvania
David L. Eng, English, University of Pennsylvania
Nancy J. Hirschmann, Political Science, University of Pennsylvania
Kalyan Nadiminti, Graduate Student, English, University of Pennsylvania
James English, Director, Penn Humanities Forum, University of Pennsylvania
Micah Del Rosario, Graduate Student, English, University of Pennsylvania
Chi-Ming Yang, English, University of Pennsylvania.
Jean-Christophe Cloutier, English, University of Pennsylvania
Andrew Lamas, Urban Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Amy Kaplan, English, University of Pennsylvania.
Jed Esty, English, University of Pennsylvania.