We, the undersigned students, staff and faculty members at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Hague, support the right of students and teachers everywhere to a learning environment that is critical, engaging and respectful. In light of recent events and the slander campaign against the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), we are disheartened and embarrassed that this is not the vision of the current Government of India, that they would rather create spaces of fear and control, by labelling all those that criticise their policies as anti-national and unpatriotic.
We do not support any one idea of India or one form of nationalism over another but look to University spaces to create an environment where ideas may be exchanged freely, inviting engagement in the form of both criticism and support, uninhibited by the threat of arbitrary censorship or state-sponsored violence.
Not so long ago, students from Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) were declared anti-Hindu, anti-Indian or Naxals and their protests were labeled as ‘conspiracies’, when they expressed their disagreement over a ruling party member, GajendraChauhan being appointed as their Chairman. We recently witnessed the labelling of students as anti-national when they held protests after the suicide of student activist RohithVemula, who highlighted the institutionalised discrimination against Dalits at Hyderabad Central University. And when voices were raised to discuss the issue of capital punishment, the case of Afzal Guru and the right to self determination – all legitimate issues for democratic debate and discussion- they were charged with ‘sedition’, itself an anachronistic concept which has no place in a secure and modern democracy, and JNU was accused of being a nest of anti-national activities.
We therefore collectively condemn all authoritative actions taken against various educational institutions by the present Government of India. We also condemn the perception and treatment of student activists as criminals by some media personnel, certain representatives of political parties and the state machinery.
We particularly condemn student leader, Kanhaiya Kumar’s arrest at JNU and the subsequent siege of the JNU campus by the Delhi Police, aided by some members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). We also strongly condemn the related attacks on JNU students and faculty outside of campus, as well as on journalists, by lawyers and representatives of the ruling party.
We join the global community in expressing our solidarity with the staff and students of JNU. We #StandWithJNU.
- Dr.MansoobMurshed, Professor
- Dr.ArjunBedi, Professor
- N. Wagner, Assistant Professor
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- LoesKeijsers, Lecturer (Retired)
- Dr.Thanh-Dam Truong, Associate Professor (Retired)
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- JoãoGuimarães, Senior Lecturer (Retired)
- Dr. Wendy Harcourt, Associate Professor
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