As academics and other concerned persons, we, the undersigned, are outraged at the manner in which discussions on the ongoing war against Palestine are being silenced on Indian campuses, and in the public sphere more broadly. We are issuing this statement to call upon university administrators and the government to respect our academic freedom. We would also like to remind everyone of India’s own long history of anti-colonial struggle which has historically provided the lens through which the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, equality and human rights has been viewed in India.

We object to the way in which any discussion of the historical context of the occupation of Palestine and the barbaric Israeli assault on Gaza, along with the denial of food, fuel and water, since October 7th 2023, is being projected as support for the brutal terror attack on civilians in Israel by Hamas on October 7th.

We object to the Israeli ambassador’s interference with academic freedom on Indian campuses. This disrespects the competence of Indian scholars to analyze historical and political situations for themselves. Defending the right to life and dignity of Palestinians, or pointing out the links between Zionism and Hindutva as supremacist ideologies, is not equivalent to antisemitism.

We strongly condemn the hijacking of the Palestine issue to further Islamophobia within India. In all the attacks on campus events on Palestine, we see the Hindutva ecosystem at work – known Hindutva individuals who tweet against the faculty members concerned, groups which organize protests against them on campus, and a pliant media which engages in defamation of the academics as terror supporters.

We demand that the Indian government, as well as all political parties in power in different states stop criminalizing protests in solidarity with Palestine. The FIRs filed against students of Aligarh Muslim University, and detentions of youth and students in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Coimbatore are examples of this. ManyOpposition parties have failed to show sufficient solidarity with the people of Palestine and have thus betrayed the history of India’s own freedom struggle.

We call upon University administration to uphold their statutory and constitutional obligations and respect the intelligence, competence and integrity of their own faculty and students, and their right to organize talks and invite speakers as pedagogical interventions. 

Signatories

1. Nandini Sundar, sociologist
2. Nivedita Menon, political scientist
3. Ravi Sundaram, media scholar
4. Rajshree Chandra, political scientist
5. Rohan D’Souza, historian
6. Pamela Philipose, journalist
7. Maya John, historian
8. Karen Gabriel, English literature
9. Achin Vanaik, political scientist
10. Apoorvanand, Hindi literature
11. Ayesha Kidwai, linguist
12. Atul Sood, regional development
13. Anita Rampal, educationist
14. Wilson Baskar, Educationist
15. Mahaboob Batcha, Managing Trustee — Justice Bhagwati Foundation
16. Aabid Surti, Author/Cartoonist/Water Warrior
17. Aashish Gokhale, Researcher
18. Aashita Dawer, Associate Professor
19. Abdul Mabood, Snehi
20. Abdul Rahman, Instrumentation engineer
21. Abhijeet Yadav, Student
22. Abhinav Mishra, Student
23. Absar Hazarika, Retired Civil Servant
24. Adil Tyabji, Freelance Publishing Editor
25. Adwait Madkaikar, Independent Researcher
26. Afaque Azad, Sound engineer
27. Aflatoon, Editor, Samayik Varta
28. Ahammed Zayan, Philosophy Research Scholar
29. Aishe Ghosh, President, JNU Students’ Union
30. Aishwarya Kothare, Research Student
31. Ajay Parasram, Political scientist
32. Ajit Patil, Social and Political activist
33. Ajmala, Psychology Research scholar
34. Ajmer Chouhan, Science Communicator
35. Akash Bhattacharya, Independent Academic | Ex-Faculty Azim, Premji University.
36. Akriti, Assistant Professor
37. Albeena Shakil, Academic
38. Ali Haidar Laskar, Retd Principal
39. Alia Zaman, Political science
40. Alok Narah, Student
41. Aman, Legal Academic/Lawyer
42. Ambar Ahmad, Academic
43. Ambreen Agha, Faculty, Jindal
44. Ameet Parameswaran, Assistant Professor
45. Amir Rizvi, Designer
46. Amit Sengupta, Journalist
47. Amitabha Basu, Retirwd scientist, CSIR-NPL, New Delhi
48. Amitabha Chakrabarti, Consultant cardio Thoracic surgeon
49. Amitava Das, Service
50. Amritha Sruthi, Research Scholar
51. Anand K. Sahay, Columnist
52. Ananya Vajpeyi, Scholar and Writer
53. Anil Singh, Journalist
54. Animesh Das, Indian Federation of Trade Unions
55. Anirban, FAN
56. Anita Cherian, Academic
57. Antara Datta, Associate Professor
58. Antara Dev Sen, Journalist
59. Anuja Mital, Ecologist
60. Aparajita Datta, Wildlife biologist
61. Aparna, President, Indian Federation of Trade Unions
62. Aparna Sundar, Political Scientist
63. Apeksha Priyadarshini, Ph.D Scholar, JNU
64. Appandairaj Ananthakumar, Student, JNU
65. Apurbba Kumar Baruah, Teaching Assam Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research
66. Ar Feroz Khan, Architecture
67. Arihant Kumar Maleri, Association for Democratic Rights pb.
68. Arjun Dasgupta, Retired Executive
69. Arkadip Mahapatra, Crtical Care Technologist
70. Arker creations, Film maker/Digital creator
71. Arman Hazarika, Research Scholar
72. Arul Singh, Student
73. Aruna Gnanadason, Consultant
74. Arunachalam Angappan, Rtd
75. Asad Abesi, Business
76. Asha Mishra, All India People’s Science Network/BGVS
77. Ashish Mital, G.S. AIKMS
78. Ashish Reddy, Advocate
79. Ashok Kumar, Student, IIT Kanpur
80. Ashok Kumar Pandey, Author
81. Ashwin Sreekumar, Banking Professional
82. Ashwin Thomas, Student, St. Stephen’s College
83. Ashwin Viswanathan, Scientist
84. Astha Chaudhary, Research scholar
85. Atif Ahmed, Student
86. Avinash Kumar, Faculty, JNU
87. Avishek Konar, O.P. Jindal Global University
88. Azra, Caretaker
89. B Rajasekhar Rahul, Teacher
90. Bhavna Sharma, Social Activist
91. Bhimrao Khetre, Freelancer Artist
92. Biplab, AIPSN
93. Brij Tankha, Historian
94. Brijesh V K, Teacher, KSSP
95. C P Chandrasekhar, Former Professor JNU
96. Carol Upadhya, Visiting Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore
97. Cedric Prakash, Human Rights Reconciliation and Peace Activist/ Writer
98. Chandni Mehta, Jawaharlal Nehru University
99. Charu Mishra, Scientist
100. Charu Singh, Educator
101. Chitra Harshvardhan, Retired Professor from JNU, New Delhi
102. Clifton D’ Rozario, Lawyer
103. Deepak Goswami, AIPSN
104. Deepti Bharti, Social work
105. Devathi Parashuram, conservationist
106. Devika Bordia, Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence
107. Dhiman Chatterjee, Faculty IITM
108. Dhruv Raina, Historian and philosopher of science
109. Dipendra Nath Chakraborty, Retired
110. Divya Mudappa, Wildlife scientist
111. Divyajyoti Ganguly, Wildlife Biologist
112. Dr Mira Shiva, Public Health Physician
113. Dr Rizwan Rafeequi, Arabic Literature
114. Dr Sunilam, Ex MLA, KSS NAPM SKM, Samajwadi Samagam
115. Dr Sushanta Kar, Teaching
116. G. Ramachandram, Professor of Political Science and retired Principal
117. M. Geyanand, State president Jana Vignana Vedika, Andhra Pradesh
118. Mihirlal Roy, Science Activists, Bijnan Mancha – Tripura
119. S. Anandha Krishna Raj, International law
120. S. Kanitha, Retired Professor
121. S. Vijaya Prabhu, Assistant professor, NCT
122. Salman, Journalist
123. Shikha Kapur, Academic
124. Soma Marla, Principal scientist Genomics ICAR
125. Dunu Roy, Coordinator Hazards Centre
126. Ekadh Ranganathan, Wildlife Biologist
127. Eric Pinto, ANHAD Goa
128. Faizan,
129. Fakhruddin Yusuf Bhai Jasupurawala,
130. Farah Naqvi, Independent Writer and Activist
131. Farai Divan Patel, Ecologist
132. Feroze Mithiborwala, Freelance Writer
133. Fiza, Student
134. Fozia Sodawala, Writer
135. Frazer Mascarenhas, Sociologist
136. Freny Manecksha, Independent journalist
137. G Arunima, Historian, Kerala Council for Historical Research
138. Muralidhar, JVV AP
139. Gautam I Menon, Professor
140. Ghanshyam Shah, Independent  Reasercher,  formerly  professor JNU
141. Githa Hariharan, Writer
142. Goldie Osuri, University of Warwick
143. Gopinathan A N, Pensioner
144. Gopinathan VG, KSSP/AIPSN activist
145. Gowtham Raja Sathish, Professor, Voorhees College
146. Guruprasad Kar, Indian Statistical Institute
147. Habravysh, PhD scholar, Jawaharlal Nehru University
148. Harbans Mukhia, Historian
149. Hasina Khan, Gender activist
150. Henri Tiphagne, Human Rights Defenders Alert _India
151. Himanshu, Jawaharlal Nehru University
152. Hoimi Mukherjee, Jawaharlal Nehru University
153. Ilan Kapoor, Professor, York University, Toronto
154. Imrana Qadeer, Public health professional
155. Imtiaz Quadri, Political Scientist
156. Inamul Hasan, Social Activist
157. Indira, Public Health academic
158. Indranee Dutta, Retired Professor
159. Indu Chandrasekhar, Publisher
160. Ira Raja, University of Delhi
161. Ishita Chatterjee, Academic
162. Ishupal, Faculty, JGLS
163. Jai Singh, Service
164. Jaideep Ahuja, Engineer
165. James Masih, Hotel Construction Management
166. Janhavi Rajan, Designer
167. Jasjit, Social worker
168. Jayaprakash cherupally, Social work
169. Jayati Ghosh, economic
170. John Cherian, Journalist
171. John Dayal, Writer
172. John Scaria, Student
173. Jose PI, Advocate
174. Joseph Mathai, social worker
175. Joseph PV, KSSP
176. K P Sarma, Teacher’s
177. Sudhir, Architect/PUCL
178. Trimurtulu, Science activist/RTD.librarian
179. Kajri Jain, art history/visual studies, University of Toronto
180. Kalpana Kannabiran, Sociologist
181. Kamal Sarma, Social activist
182. Kamala Kempadoo, sociologist
183. Kamini Tankha, Concerned Citizen
184. Kanta Khurana, Retd Associate Professor
185. Karen Haydock, retired TIFR/HBCSE
186. Karthick Narayanan, Linguist
187. Karthik Teegalapalli,
188. Karuna DW, Historian
189. Kashish,
190. Kaveri Gill, Political economist
191. Kavita Srivastava, Human Rights activist – PUCL
192. Kedar Soni, Educator
193. Kishwer, Retired Banker
194. Komal Mohite, Doctoral Candidate, McGill University
195. Komal Saigal, Individual
196. Krishnakumr, Retired professor
197. Krittika Chakraborty, Comparative Literature, University of Hyderabad
198. Kumar Prashant, Gandhian activist
199. Kunal Kumar, Doctoral Research Scholar
200. Lara Jesani, People’s Union for Civil Liberties
201. Lata Singh, Associate Professor, JNU
202. Lipi Bag, Research scholar
203. Lotika Singha, Writer
204. Lovish Gautam, Private Service
205. M Madhava Prasad, Retired Professor, EFL U
206. Gauhar Iqbal, India Palestine Friendship Forum
207. V. Ramana, Professor
208. Radhamurugesan, Tamilnadu science forum
209. Madhu Sahni, Literary academic
210. Madhusmita Rawooth, Product Manager in Healthcare (Dozee)
211. Madhusudan Katti, Professor
212. Mahesh Gaur, Administrative Officer
213. Maimoona Abbas Mollah, Women’s rights activist
214. Malaika Mathew Chawla, wildlife biologist
215. Malavika Kasturi, Historian
216. Manali Chakrabarti, Academic Independent
217. Manisha Biswas, Student, Jawaharlal Nehru University
218. Manisha Hans, Social Activist
219. Manorama Sharma, Historian
220. Marcia DCunha, Teacher
221. Mary, Advocate
222. Mary E John, women’s studies
223. Maya Krishna Rao, Theatre Artist
224. Ali Shariff, The Lifeline Foundation
225. Meena Dhanda, Philosopher
226. Meera Samson, Research
227. Meera Sanghamitra, National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)
228. Meghna Roy, anthropologist
229. Minakshi Singh, Activist
230. Mini Mathew, Lawyer
231. Mira Sadgopal, Medico Friend Circle
232. Mohammed Alam Khan, Business
233. Mohammed Ali, Private Service
234. Mohan Dutta, Professor of Communication
235. Mohan Rao, Public health
236. Monika kshatriya, Journalist
237. Moushumi Basu, Academic
238. Mridupankhi Rajkumari, PhD scholar, Jawaharlal Nehru University
239. Mrigank, Indian Federation of Trade Unions
240. Mritiunjoy Mohanty, Economist
241. Muhammed Kuttiyatle, Free lance artist
242. Muneer Mukhdoomi, Service
243. Munnee Sen, Content writer
244. Muralidharan, National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD)
245. Mwajuma Alice Abok, Human Resource Consultant
246. N Sai Balaji, Doctoral Student, JNU
247. Mani, Teaching
248. Raghuram, Biotechnologist
249. K.Saraswathi, Teacher
250. Nabanita Samanta, Doctoral Researcher, IIT Bombay
251. Nadeem Khan, India Palestine friendship forum
252. Nageswar Y S, JVV AP
253. Naina Dayal, Historian
254. Naiyer Razzaqui, Defence Pensioner
255. Najibuddin Ahmed, AIPSN, Assam, Secretary
256. Nalini Nayak, PGDAV College, Delhi University (Retd Associate Professor)
257. Naman Murliwar, Student
258. Namita Khare, researcher
259. Nancy Vaz, Retired Teacher
260. Nandini Velho, Scientist
261. Nandita Narain, Associate Prof( Retd), Dept of Mathematics, St Stephen’s College, Delhi University
262. Narender Nagarwal, Professor University of Delhi
263. Naveen Gaur, University of Delhi
264. Navsharan, Singh
265. Nazneen, Activist
266. Neeladri Bhattacharya, Professor (Rtd) Jawaharlal Nehru University
267. Neelima Sharma, Street theatre person
268. Neeraj Malik, University Professor
269. Neerja Prasad, Director administration
270. Neha, Student
271. Neha, Student
272. Nidal Abuzuluf, Director, JAI
273. Nikita, Climate Action Consultant
274. Nirangkush Nath, Political Activist
275. Niyati, Student
276. Noor Enayat, Publicist
277. Noorjahan Abdul Hamid diwan, Activities
278. Nupur Asher, Research Scholar
279. Oishik Sircar, legal scholar
280. P A Azeez, Freelance Academic
281. P Jeganathan, Wildlife Biologist
282. Padma Kondiparthi, Advocate
283. Padmini Smetacek, Editor
284. Pamela Philipose, Journalist
285. Pariplab Chakraborty, Visual artist and journalist
286. Parnal Chirmuley, German Studies
287. Partho Sarothi Ray, Molecular biologist
288. Parvathy Rajendran, Freelance Editor
289. Parveez Asghar, Retired
290. Parwati, Housewife / Haryana Gyan Vigyan Samiti, Hisar
291. Peggy Mohan, Linguist
292. Pia Sethi, Conservation biologist
293. Ponniah Rajamanickam, All India People Science Network
294. Poorvi Gupta, Journalist
295. Prabhu Mohapatra, Historian
296. Pradip Kumar Datta, Retired Professor
297. Pramod Ranjn, Journalist
298. Pranjali Bandhu, Researcher, South Asia Study Centre, Nilgiris
299. Prateek Vijayavargia, Research Scholar, JNU
300. Pratiksha Baxi, Sociologist
301. Praveen Arora, Media
302. Praveen Jha, Professor
303. Preethi Krishnan, Sociologist
304. Priya Dharshini, Delhi forum
305. Priyamvada Iyer, Business
306. Priyanka Prakash, NCF
307. Qim Ahmed, Designer
308. R Nagesh, Retired LIC Employee
309. S. Vikal,
310. Vivekaanandhan, College Professor (RTD.)
311. Radha Kumar, Writer and policy analyst
312. Radhika Singha, Retired
313. Raghavendra Prasad, President, IFTU
314. Rahul Roy, Indian Statistical Institute
315. Rahul Varman, Academic
316. Rajamathangi S, Linguist
317. Rajarshi Dasgupta, Political scientist
318. Rajat Kumar Sonkar, PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology, University of Delhi
319. Rajeev Singha, Doctor
320. Rajender Kumar, Theatre activiest
321. Rajni Palriwala, Professor of Socioloy
322. Raju K, Retired Professor
323. Rakesh, Theatre activist
324. Ramakrishnan C, Educationist
325. Ramani Atkuri, Independent Public Health Physician
326. Ramanujam Ragavan, Retired govt servant
327. Ramesh Chander, Retired officer
328. Ramesh Chander, Retired Principal / Haryana Gyan Vigyan Samiti
329. Ramesh Dixit, Academician, Professor in Political science (retired) Lucknow University.
330. Ramneek Singh, Playwright, Theatre Director, Teacher
331. Rana, Student
332. Ranjani Mazumdar, Cinema Studies
333. Rashmi Gera,
334. Rashmi Pant, Assoc. Prof. Retd.
335. Ratheesan T M, Comon Service centre
336. Ravi Duggal, Independent Sociologist and Public Health Researcher
337. Ravi Srivastava, Research
338. Ravinder Banyal, Scientist
339. Raynah Marise, ICWM
340. Raza Kazmi, Conservationist, Researcher, Wildlife Historian, Writer
341. Razia Quresh Bootwala, Home maker
342. Reshma, PhD Physics, University of Hyderabad
343. Richa Minocha, Academic
344. Rita Manchanda, Peace & Conflict studies
345. Ritu Ngapnon, Farmer, Architect
346. Rohan D’Souza, Professor, ASAFAS, Kyoto University
347. Rohini Muthuswami, Professor
348. Rohit Azad, Economist
349. Rohit Kumar, Student
350. Rohith P, English Literature
351. Ronak M Soni, Physicist, University of Cambridge
352. Roop Rekha Verma, Social activist
353. Rukaiya Joshi, Professor
354. Runa Sarkar, IIM Calcutta
355. Rupa Mehta, Media Professional and Social Activist
356. Ruth Manorama, Social work Professional
357. Rutuja Dhamale, Science Educator
358. S .Mohana, AIPSN EC member, Social Activist
359. S Viswanathan, Watcher
360. G Dani, Mathematician
361. Usha, Professor
362. Krishnaswamy, Retired Senior Professor ex Madurai Kamaraj University
363. Sabiha Shariff, Retired
364. Sachidanand Sinha, Professor Retd
365. Sachin Bhusari, Citizen
366. Sachin N, Dyal Singh College, University of Delhi
367. Sadiq Zafar, Architect, Urban Policy Researcher
368. Saeed Ahmad, Historian
369. Sahildeep Singh, Student/Research Scholar
370. Sailen Bhattacharyya, Social Worker
371. Samarth M Dahiwale,
372. Samik Dasgupta, Assistant Professor, Ananda Chandra College, University of North Bengal
373. Samuel Asir Raj, Professor
374. Sandhya Srinivasan, Indian Journal of Medical Ethics
375. Sangeeta, Social Activist, HGVS
376. Sangeetha K, Assistant Professor/ A M Jain College
377. Sangita Das, Associate Professor
378. Sanjaya Gupta, Banker and independent consultant
379. Sanjit Chatterjee, IISc
380. Sankari Rajappon, CPI(M)
381. Sarah, Actor
382. Saraswathi, PUCL
383. Saravanan V, Ph.D Candidate, JNU
384. Satbir Nagal, Science Activists
385. Satish Deshpande, Sociologist
386. Satish Kumar Singh, Senior Advisor
387. Satish Suryan, Journalist
388. Satyajit, Freelance editor
389. Sedef Arat-Koc, Politics professor / Toronto Metropolitan University
390. Seema Mustafa, Journalist
391. Sehar Kidwai, Production designer
392. Selvyn Jussy, Linguist
393. Shabnam Hashmi, Social Activist
394. Shafeef Ahmed, Phd student
395. Shafeeq Mahajir, Lawyer
396. Shalini D, Student of History
397. Shalini Dhawan, Designer
398. Shamsul Islam, Former faculty Delhi University
399. Shanti Paswan, Scatory jansandesh ngo
400. Sharoz Reza, Founder EHSAS Foundation
401. Shaukat Abdul Karim Dangare, Business man
402. Shikhar Goel, New York University
403. Shilpita Mandal, Researcher
404. Shohini Sengupta, PhD candidate, UNSW, Sydney
405. Shreekant Gupta, University of Delhi
406. Shubhra Gururani, Anthropologist, Director, York Centre for Asian Research
407. Shukla Sawant, Artist and academic
408. Shyama Iyer, IIT Bombay
409. Siddan Chandra, Media Producer
410. Simin Akhter, University of Delhi
411. SK Malik, Retired Engineer
412. Soma Chatterjee, Associate Professor, York University
413. Sonal K S, Master’s Student, Political Science, NEHU.
414. Srinivasan Ramani, Senior journalist
415. Sruti Bala, Associate Professor University of Amsterdam
416. Stella, Environmental law
417. Sucharita Sen, Jawaharlal Nehru University
418. Suchisree Chatterjee, PhD student, IIT Bombay
419. Suchitra Mathur, English Literature
420. Sudha Bharadwaj, Lawyer
421. Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan,
422. Sukla Sen, Life Fellow, Indian Social Science Academy
423. Sukumar Muralidharan, Columnist and journalism educator
424. Suman Kalyan Pradhanadhyapak i, Salaried
425. Sundarapandi, Retired professor.
426. Surajit Mazumdar, Jawaharlal Nehru University
427. Surajit Pal, Corporate Job
428. Suranya Aiyar, Housewife
429. Suresh,
430. Suresh Kumar, Health Activist
431. Surya Abhishek Singaraju, Physicist
432. Sushmita, Political Scientist
433. Suvrat Raju, Physicist
434. Swatija, Forum Against Oppression of Women
435. Syed Ghouse Mohiuddin Quadri, Exserviceman and Human Rights Activist
436. T V Narasimha Rao, Teacher
437. Tamojit Roy, Assistant Professor, CoochBehar College
438. Tani Bhargava, Social work
439. Tanweer Fazal, sociologist
440. Tarun Sagar, Research Analyst/Social Worker
441. Thamizh Nazar, Research scholar
442. Thomas Mathew, Research scholar, University of Delhi
443. Tirthaprasad K, Teacher
444. Tonmoy, Media professional
445. Udaya Kumar, Literary studies
446. Ugandhar Babu, Lic, Janavignana Vedika
447. Umesh Chandola, Veterinary doctor
448. Ushi Kak, Writer, Academic
449. Utpola Das, Student
450. Uttam, Artist
451. V P Nandakumar, Science activist
452. V Ponnuraj, Retired college professor
453. S. Krishna, Human Rights Forum
454. Vaidyanathan R, Researcher
455. Vanessa Chishti, Associate Professor, Jindal Law School
456. Vasudha, Researcher
457. Venkatesh Athreya, Economist
458. Vidya Das Arora, Retired academic
459. Vijay Karthick, PhD student
460. Vikas Bajpai, Jawaharlal Nehru University
461. Vikas Rawal, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
462. Vinay Brandon, Phd Scholar, Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi
463. Vineet Tiwari, National Secretary, All India Progressive Writers’ Association
464. Virginia Saldanha, Woman Activist
465. Waseemsha, Doctor
466. Wasi Kidwai, Student
467. Yousuf Saeed, Independent filmmaker
468. Zahra Vahanvaty, Non-profit
469. Zeeshan Khan,
470. Zoya Hasan, Political Scientist