It has become abundantly clear to us that the leadership of this government is filled with pathological liars and hate-mongers who have no interest in history, truth, or justice. They do not believe in the Constitution, and we see no point in constantly appealing to them to abide by it. At times like these, when the rhetoric of fascism is ubiquitous and the governments actions are consistently anti-democratic and anti-people, it becomes exceedingly important to reaffirm the need and carve out a space for anti-fascist resistance. We emphatically oppose the fascist designs of this government, and will continue to oppose their efforts to create a Hindu Rashtra.
To our colleagues in academia: we have become all too accustomed to adopting a calculated silence in the face of such indignities, hoping perhaps that our country will eventually right itself. This silence is indistinguishable from tacit endorsement, and must stop immediately. It shouldn't be an act of courage to publicly denounce savagery. Honest academic activity is by virtue of its essence incompatible with totalitarianism. We appeal to our fellow academics, and also activists, students, and members of civil society to join us in strongly condemning this tyranny and injustice.
As of the writing of this statement, the citizens of Kashmir still do not have access to means of communication. Overnight, their homes have been turned into prisons. Protests have erupted in various parts of Kashmir, and already there are numerous reports of civilians being wounded severely by pellet gun fire and tear gas.
We, the undersigned, emphatically support the cause of the thousands of protesters, and condemn in the strongest possible terms the violent repression being faced by the Kashmiri people, whose only crime is to demand what is guaranteed to them by our Constitution: a representative and inclusive democratic state. While always standing in opposition to fascist governments and the terror of the Sangh, we stand firmly with the people of Kashmir as they initiate their struggle to reclaim their autonomy.
Signatories
1. Akash Bhattacharya (Faculty)
2. Alok Laddha (Faculty)
3. Anand Pathak (PhD Student)
4. Aneesh Prema Balakrishnan (PhD Student)
5. Aradhita Chattopadhyaya (PhD Student)
6. Arijit Dey (Faculty)
7. Arnab Priya Saha (Postdoctoral Fellow)
8. Arpan Kundu (PhD Student)
9. Arya (PhD Student)
10. Asfa Borbora (MSc Student)
11. Asima Abidi (PhD Student)
12. Atanu Bhatta (Postdoctoral Fellow)
13. Bobby Ezhuthachan (Faculty)
14. Bodhayan Roy (Faculty)
15. Bindusar Sahoo (Faculty)
16. Charudatta Navare (PhD Student)
17. Dattaraj Dhuri (PhD Student)
18. Debangshu Mukherjee (Postdoctoral Fellow)
19. Deboshree Chakraborty (PhD Student)
20. Deepak Eappachen (PhD Student)
21. Deepshikha Jaiswal Nagar (Faculty)
22. D. Aditi (PhD Student)
23. Diptarka Das (Faculty)
24. Durga Bhavani (Faculty)
25. Gracious Temsen (Faculty)
26. Jeenath Rahaman (PhD Student)
27. Joby Joseph (Faculty)
28. Kanhere Aaloka (Project Scientific Officer)
29. Karthick Thambidurai (MSc Student)
30. Kawalkar Aisha (PhD Student)
31. Kinjal Banerjee (Faculty)
32. K. Laxminarayana (Faculty)
33. Madhusudhan Raman (Postdoctoral Fellow)
34. Manik Banik (Faculty)
35. Manu Akavoor (PhD Student)
36. Mohamed Rameez (Postdoctoral Fellow)
37. Nairit Sur (PhD Student)
38. Neha Lodha (Postdoctoral Fellow)
39. Nilanjan Bandyopadhaya (Faculty)
40. P. Anupama (Faculty)
41. Pranjal Nayak (Postdoctoral Fellow)
42. Prashant Kocherlakota (PhD Student)
43. Ramchandra Phawade (Faculty)
44. R. Janaki (PhD Student)
45. Rohan Poojary (Postdoctoral Fellow)
46. Ronak Soni (Postdoctoral Fellow)
47. Rudranil Basu (Faculty)
48. Sabana Shabnam (Postdoctoral Fellow)
49. Sarbeswar Pal (Faculty)
50. Shikha Takker (PhD Student)
51. Soumyadip Bandyopadhyay (Faculty)
52. Soumyajit Pramanick (PhD Student)
53. Sounak Biswas (PhD Student)
54. Sowmya Dechamma (Faculty)
55. Subhadip Biswas (PhD Student)
56. Subhadip Chakraborti (Postdoctoral Fellow)
57. Subham Dutta Chowdhury (Postdoctoral Fellow)
58. Subhroneel Chakrabarti (Postdoctoral Fellow)
59. Subramanya Hegde (PhD Student)
60. Suhas Vijayakumar (PhD Student)
61. Sumeru Hazra (PhD Student)
62. Sundar Sobers (Faculty)
63. Suratno Basu (Postdoctoral Fellow)
64. Sushmita Venugopalan (Faculty)
65. Tathagata Sengupta (Reader)
66. Tridebi Ghosh (Faculty)
67. Ushak Rahaman (Postdoctoral Fellow)
68. Vijay Ravikumar (Faculty)
