We, the undersigned faculty and students at Purdue University, strongly condemn the arrest of JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar. We oppose the systematic and deliberate attempts to humiliate, bully and terrorize the university’s community of scholars and political activists. It is unethical for a government to spread canards about students with the hope of distracting attention away from its over-zealous, slapdash interventions in academic institutions. We demand that this scapegoating and hounding of Umar Khalid, and all other students, cease immediately.

We salute the courageous JNU community that stands proud and resolute in the face of physical violence, media trials, and sectarian, antediluvian discourses that confuse students for enemies, and dissent – the cornerstone of democracy – for sedition.

More generally, we detect a pattern in this government’s deployment of the state machinery against young adults committed to addressing the inequities and discriminations so blatant in our country today. We insist, therefore, that the central government end its programmatic assault on public educational institutions and the spirit of free-thought. Institutions of higher education must be created and preserved as spaces where caste oppression, gender and minority-exclusion can be studied, and their resistance practiced. JNU exemplifies a dual commitment to combining academic rigor with a political-ethical conscience. We stand in solidarity with JNU’s vision of a diverse campus, charged with a robust polity, where no monolithic, auto-corrected version of the nation or patriotism dominates. We believe that university campuses, like society at large, can thrive only when celebrations of the myriad manifestations of the nation are accompanied by an honest and fearless capacity to criticize its inadequacies.

1. Alisha Karabinus, Graduate Student, Department of English
2. Allison Layfield, Graduate student, Department of English
3. Anant Goel, Undergraduate student, Department of Computer Science
4. Anish Vanaik, Faculty, Purdue Honors College
5. Anna Monical, Undergraduate student, Department of English
6. Arielle McKee, Graduate student, Department of English
7. Audrey Gradzewicz, Graduate student, Department of English
8. Ben Ashmani, Alumnus
9. Benjamin Balthaza, Faculty, Indiana University, South Bend
10. Benjamin Madrid, Alumnus
11. Bill Mullen, Faculty, Department of English and American Studies
12. Brianna Grace Cheesman, Undergraduate student
13. Carlos Macias Prieto, Alumnus, American Studies
14. Casarae Gibson, Alumna, American Studies
15. Casey Root Varner
16. Cesar Andres Elvir Velches, Graduate student, Department of English
17. Chandrahas Reddy, Undergraduate student, Purdue Polytechnic Institute
18. Christopher Munt, Graduate Student, American Studies
19. Dan Kenzie, Graduate Student, Department of English
20. Dana Bisignani, Graduate Student, Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies
21. Dana Roders, Graduate student, Department of English
22. Don Unger, Alumnus, Department of English
23. Dwaine Jengelley, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Purdue Honors College
24. Elle Rochford, Graduate student, Department of sociology
25. Greg Allendorf, Alumnus, Department of English
26. Gulcin Con, Graduate student, Department of Sociology
27. Helen Knight, Alumna, Department of English
28. Jared M. Wright, Graduate student, Department of Sociology
29. Joohyun Jade Park, Graduate student, Department of English
30. Julia Smith, Graduate student, Department of English
31. Kara Krewer, Alumna, Department of English
32. Kevin Names, Undergraduate student
33. Lauren Carpenter, Alumna, Department of English
34. Lisa Ann Curtin, Alumna, Department of English
35. Lisa Young, Graduate Student, American Studies
36. Matt Townsley, Alumnus, Department of English
37. Matt Varner, Alumnus, Department of English
38. Megan Schoen, Alumna, Department of English
39. Megha Anwer, Faculty, Purdue Honors College
40. Namrata Mitra, Alumna, Department of English
41. Natasha Duncan, Faculty, Department of Political Science
42. Nathaniel Coghlan, Director of Outreach, Purdue Honors College
43. Patricia Morton, Graduate Student, Department of Sociology
44. Paul Eliot, Graduate Student, Department of English
45. Preethi Krishnan, Graduate student, Department of Sociology
46. Priya Sirohi, Graduate student, Department of English
47. Ryan Hubble, Alumnus, Department of English
48. Saba Pirzada, Graduate student, Department of English
49. Steve Gooch, Graduate Student, Department of English
50. Tehmina Pirzada, Graduate student, Department of English
51. Teht Ashmani, Alumna, Department of English
52. Tithi Bhattacharya, Director, Global Studies
53. Tracey Jean Boisseau, Director of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program
54. Tristan Abbott, Alumnus, Department of English
55. Wesley Bishop, Graduate student, History Department
56. Zachary Pamler, Graduate Student, Department of Sociology
57. Zahra Tehrani, Faculty, Purdue Honors College