Support for the students of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University is continuously pouring in from different of the world as people watch the horrors perpetrated by the Indian police on unarmed, peacefully protesting students. The following is yet another of an international statements of support.

We, the undersigned, condemn the recent spate of state violence unleashed against students of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) by the ruling BJP government. We are students studying in various universities and educational institutions outside of India, and are extremely appalled to see the brazen attack on the democratic rights of students across universities in India. Students of JMI and AMU have been protesting against the discriminatory Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), which enforces a highly selective citizenship criteria based on faith that excludes Muslims and effectively reduces the status of millions of Muslims in India to ‘illegal migrants’. The police have shown zero restraint in their attempt to suppress the agitations and it is clear that the students are violently targeted because of their Muslim identity.

On Sunday, the Delhi police forcibly entered the JMI campus and started arbitrarily attacking students and the staff. Students were dragged out of their hostels and mosques, where they had taken shelter to escape being hit by tear gas, and mercilessly beaten up by the police. There are videos where the police are seen to be committing acts of vandalism such as torching buses in an attempt to pin the blame on the students for the ensuing violence. Around 31 students have been grievously injured in the clashes and 11 students are hospitalized. The police have also unlawfully detained more than 50 students. The entire incident of police brutality was unequivocally condemned by the Vice Chancellor of JMI, Najma Akhtar who has expressed solidarity with the students.

Aligarh Muslim University has been under siege by paramilitary forces. More than 200 students have been detained by the police on the dubious grounds of being ‘anti-social’ elements. Around 60 students have been injured in the brutal police crackdown. Internet services have been blocked in Aligarh and hostels are being evacuated by the university administration. Videos shared on social media websites show the paramilitary beating the students with batons and using rubber bullets and tear gas to suppress their protests. There are also reports of the cops thrashing motor bikes and student residences being set on fire. To discredit the student agitations right wing groups have resorted to spreading malicious lies and misinformation. Amit Malviya, head of the BJP National Information and Technology operations, tweeted doctored videos stating that AMU students raised ‘a clarion call’ for ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Hindus— a baseless rumour spread with the deliberate intent of inciting communal tensions.

The on-going student agitations reveal the stubborn refusal of the Modi government to abide by principles of social justice enshrined in the Constitution of India. The JNU protests against fee hikes have also exposed the attempts by the government to deny students coming from deprived backgrounds access to higher education. The CAA, along with the National Register of Citizens, is an unprecedented move by the Modi government to marginalize millions of Muslims by rendering them stateless. It is an instrument to create a Hindu majoritarian state and has caused communal polarization and unrest across the country, particularly in the North-Eastern region of India. Police moved into Guwahati and Bishop Cotton universities and were holding the students hostage by beating up those who were attempting to step out. With indiscriminate use of violence and militarization of campuses, the Modi government has turned universities from spaces of learning into deadly war zones.

We, therefore, demand immediate and unconditional release of all the students detained by the police. We, further, demand removal of police personnel and the paramilitary from the university spaces and urge the government to constitute an independent inquiry into the incidents of police excess against the students. Students across the country are standing up in solidarity with JMI and AMU–these include students from IIT-Madras, IIT-Bombay, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Delhi University and many others. We add our voice in support and stand in solidarity with all those students who are speaking up against police brutality and state repression.

Signed-