Guest Post by Architects from all over India and elsewhere
To: The JNU Teachers Association, JNU Students Union
CC: Vice Chancellor, JNU
We, the undersigned, 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 favor, 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.)
(In alphabetical order)
A.Srivathsan, Professor, CEPT University Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad
Abhishek Biswas, Industrial Designer, Goa
Ajas P Fasal, Architect, Trivandrum
Akshay Srinivas, Student, Delhi
Amit Rastogi, Team lead, CnT Architects, Bangalore
Amit Sarma
Associate Professor, Sushant School of Art and Architecture, Delhi
Amrita Dasgupta, Architect, New Delhi
Amrita Madan,Professor, New Delhi
Aneesh Babu, Architect, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Anisha, Architect, Delhi
Aparna V, Architect, Kochi, Kerala
Arsh, Architect, Delhi
Arun Jacob Mathew, Architect
Arun.S.R., Architect, Kerala
Arusree Mohanty Chhaya, Architect, Sweden
Ashish Byakod, Architect, Bangalore
Ashwini Kher, Assistant Professor, Gurgaon
Avni Mehta, Student, New Delhi
B S Bhooshan, Architect. Principal BSB Architects, Mysore
Bhawna Jaimini, Program Assistant, Hunnarshala Foundation, Bhuj, Gujarat
Boney Philip, Project Manager, Dubai
Debashree, Architect, Academician, Bangalore
Debasish Borah, Project director, Roots Collective, Ladakh, Leh
Deeksha, Architect, New Delhi
Deepak Kumar, Student, M. Arch (Urban Design), Delhi
Deepanshu Arneja, Architect, New Delhi
Deepu Ravi, Editor, Trivandrum
Divya Chopra, Architect, New Delhi
Dr Vibhuti Sachdev, Professor, Delhi
G Shankar, Chief, Habitat Technology Group, Thiruvanananthapuram
Ganga Dileep C, Architect, Assistant Professor, Trivandrum
Gaurav Roychoudhury, Architect, Bangalore
Girish Chandran, Lecturer, College of Architecture Trivandrum
Harshavardhan, Architect, Bangalore
Immanuel J Nicholas, Architect, Bangalore
Indu V, Junior Architect, Kerala
Ishan Pal, Student, Delhi
Ismet Khambatta, Director, Ahmedabad
Jaisim, Architect, Bangalore
Jaweed Darbar, Architect- Engineer, Bangalore
Jayaraj Sundaresan, Academic, Bangalore
Jinoj M., Assistant Professor, Trivandrum
Juhi Malpani, Architect-Town Planner, Delhi
Kamlesh Pohekar, Associate Professor, Bangalore
Kanchan Gupta, Architect & Planner, Mumbai
Kanishka Prasad, Architect, DESIGN Daftar, New Delhi
Karan Grover, Principal, Karan Grover & Associates. Baroda
Karthik K Shetty , Freelancer, Karnataka
Kiranjith CS, Assistant Professor, KMEA College of architecture, Kochi, kerala
Kshitij Dhyani, M.Arch, student, Sir JJ College of Architecture, Mumbai, Delhi
Leon Morenas, Associate Professor of Architecture , Delhi
Madhav Raman, Partner, Anagram Architects, New Delhi
Mahesh Radhakrishnan, Principal Architect, Chennai
Manasi, Co founder, Partner. Bhoomija Creations, Trivandrum
Manish Ahuja, Architect, New Delhi
Manpreet Juneja, Architect, Delhi
Manu Mahajan, Urban Designer, Delhi
Maria Katticaran, Architect, Los Angeles
Maya Gomez, Architect, Trivandrum
Miki Desai, Architect, teacher, writer, Ahmedabad
Madhavi Desai, Architect, teacher, writer, Ahmedabad
Mona, Architect, Delhi
Monica Chaudhary , Architect, New Delhi
Mukta Naik, Visiting Faculty, School of Planning and Architecture, Gurgaon
Naveen Mahantesh, Principal Architect, Cresarc Architects, Bangalore
Neelkanth Chhaya, Architect, Ahmedabad
Nipesh, Architect, Delhi
Niveditaa Gupta, Architect and Photographer, New Delhi
Parul Choudhary, Co-Principal PS Collective, Ahmedabad
Prabir Haldar, Architect, New Delhi
Prahlad G, Architect, Ahmedabad
Pramod balakrishnan , Chief architect, Chennai
Prem Chandavarkar, Managing Partner, CnT Architects, Bangalore
Priyanka Purty, Architect, Jharkhand
Prof. Manoj Mathur, HoD, Architecture, SPA New Delhi, Delhi
Prof.Oommen.T, Architect, Trivandrum
Prosenjit Banerjee, Architect, New Delhi
Radhika Singh , Architect, New Delhi
Raja Shyam Sundar, Architect, Chennai
Rajshree Rajmohan , Architect & academician
Ratnakiran, architect, assistant professor , Vijayawada
Rita John, Assistant Professor of Architecture, USAP, Delhi, Delhi
Rojan Thomas Joseph, Architect, Bangalore
Ruchika Lall, Architect, Delhi
Rupali Gupte
Associate Professor, Founding Trustee, School of Environment and Architecture
Mumbai
Ruturaj Parikh, Director, Charles Correa Foundation, Goa
Ryan Christopher Sequeira, Fellow, National Institute of Urban Affairs, Delhi
Sahil Sasidharan, Associate – Academics & Research, IIHS, Bangalore/Bengaluru
Saiju Mohamed , Architect, Kerala
Samruddhi S Chaphale, Architect
Sanjana Mathur, Architect, New Delhi
Sara Ather, Architect, Delhi93
Sathyanarayan M, architect, Kerala
Satya Gopalan, Architect, Delhi
Saurabh Tewari, Research Scholar, Kanpur
Selva Prakash M, Assistant Professor, Tips Global Institute, Chennai
Shabeeb Khader, Project Architect, United States
Shaji TL, Professor, Trivandrum
Sharat Sunder R, Asst. Professor, Thiruvananthapuram
Shebin George, Architect, Thiruvananthapuram
Shikha Doogar, Partner, R+D Studio, Gurgaon
Shitij Dogra, Architect, New delhi
Shobana, Assistant professor, Chennai
Shreyasi Pal, Asst. Prof, Bangalore
Shridhar Rao, Architect, Gurgaon
Shyamkumar P, Architect, Kanhangad
Shyne U,HOD, KMEA COA, Cochin
Sinu Rao, Architect, JUBAIL,KSA
Smriti, Asst. Professor, Delhi
Sobia, Consultant urban planner, Bengaluru
Sonal Sundararajan, Partner, ADRG, Mumbai
Soumini Raja, Asst. Professor, College of Architecture, Trivandrum
Soumya Shukla, Architect, Delhi
Sourabh Phadke, Architect, Himachal Pradesh
Sreejith.S, Landscape Architect, Thiruvananthapuram
SS Kiran, Urban Transport Planner, Nagpur
Subin Umar Rahman, Architect, Trivandrum
Surbhi Singhal, Architect, Delhi
Swati Janu, Architect, Delhi
Tallulah D Silva, Architect
Thomas Oommen, Associate Professor, Sushant School of Art and Architecture, Delhi
TM Cyriac, Architect, Trivandrum
Vaani Dua, Asst. Professor, Delhi
Vandini Mehta, Architect, New Delhi
Vanicka Arora, Conservation Architect, Gurgaon
Vidhu Saxena, Freelance Designer, New Delhi
Vishakha Jha, Architect, Urban Development Consultant, Mumbai
Vrinda Jariwala, Asst. Professor, S.S.A.A., Ansal University
Delhi
Zeenat Niazi , Vice President, Development Alternatives, New Delhi
Arshiya, Architect – Urban Designer, Hyderabad.
LikeLike
Great initiative .Architects community should react for freedom of expression and opinions
LikeLike
I was too late to sign this. Shame on our government for this travesty of justice and violation of our rights to free thought and harmless protest. As an architect free thought is the essential ingredient I live on, and I urge all free society to stand against such thought oppression.
LikeLike
Really the people on the rise….more and more everyday.
LikeLike