Friends and Comrades,
from Democratic Students Union (DSU),
We convey our revolutionary greetings to all of you for your fearless
solidarity in the last few days against the attack on the students of
our campus and the institutional autonomy of the university by the State
after the 9th February programme organised by some students of JNU. The
students of this campus have come out unitedly against the arrest of
JNUSU president and malicious witch hunting of the organisers of the
programme and other students of JNU based on false charges. We condemn
the consorted conspiracy viciously led by ABVP, JNU administration, the
police and a section of media on all the activists in the strongest
possible words.
This is a time of rising fascism, when repressive
state apparatus, right wing hooligans from RSS to ABVP, the university
administration and the media are trying to criminalise student politics,
crush democratic voices of dissent and attack progressive individuals
who support people’s democratic movements and aspirations within and
outside the country. And anyone who disagrees with the propaganda of
right wing forces and their idea of one nation are branded as
“anti-nationals”. Anyone who speaks against the anti-people policies of
the Indian State, neo-liberal policies, corporate loot and plunder of
indigenous resources and the atrocities perpetrated by the State on the
most downtrodden sections of society are labelled as Maoists and
“biggest internal security threats”. Anyone who raised her/ his voice
against the incarceration and institutional murders and rapes of Dalits,
Adivasis, Muslims and other oppressed sections are tagged as terrorists
and “desh ke gaddar”. Anyone who questions the racial discrimination
and violence meted out to the people of North East or speak in
solidarity with the democratic political aspirations for right to
self-determination of the people of these States and Kashmir are
targeted by the cannibal “collective conscience” propagated by the
ruling classes.
We must not forget that the crackdown which we
are facing in JNU is in no way separate from the repression and
incarceration faced by the oppressed people of this country on an
everyday basis. Neither should we forget that we cannot escape this
psychological warfare and reign of terror by restraining ourselves from
speaking the truth out aloud. Today, we must stand united with the
ongoing struggles in all campuses from IIT Madras to FTII, HCU to JNU.
Our united struggle for right to dissent cannot be isolated from the
struggle for justice for Rohith and against institutional murder of
Dalits, Brahmanism in Education and targeting of minority students.
We may have political differences with each other, but in the face of
fascism, if we start condemning fellow student activists in the fear of
repression, then we are readily conceding to the states’ attempt to
break our unity. Now, a draconian and colonial law is being invoked by
the Brahmanical Indian State to charge students with sedition for
sloganeering. We may not agree with all sorts of slogans, but we must
not forget the historical injustice perpetrated on the people of Kashmir
and their democratic aspirations by the Indian State for more than
sixty years. The charge of sedition levelled against our fellow students
is nothing but a sham that puts the entire judiciary under trial.
Today, Brahmanical Hindutva Fascism in the garb of jingoistic
nationalism is amassing the rural and urban unemployed youth in large
numbers while simultaneously expediting the imperialist loot and plunder
of people’s resources aided by the State and big corporates, bolstering
its anti-people policies and pulling up the farce of “Make in India”.
This State is trying to divert the attention of the people from its
economic crisis by violently propagating Hindutva Nationalism. This
nationalism is nothing but a conceited face of fascism. By enforcing
unquestioning obedience to the Sangh’s notion of Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan,
the Indian State is trying to create wedges between dalits, adivasis,
muslims, women and other oppressed minorities because this state is
fearful of our unity.
DSU strongly demands the immediate and
unconditional revocation of the academic debarment of student activists
and organisers of the 9th February programme. We appeal to the student
community to raise the demand of scrapping the ongoing enquiry. We must
remember that even before the enquiry started students were suspended
from academic activities. Let us not be in the false hope of a “fair and
just” trial because this enquiry is intrinsically linked with the
ridiculous charges of sedition against some of the students. The JNU
Vice Chancellor must ensure that students are not individually hounded
by the administration and police. The VC must take a stand against the
police intervention in the democratic space of our campus and repeal all
charges against each and every student. We demand the resignation of
JNU Registrar, Bupinder Zutschi, who has been acting according to the
diktats of the Sangh by providing the police with personal details of
students. At the same time, the JNU administration is complicit in the
vicious profiling and witch hunting of the organisers in the media and
by police.
We condemn the media trial of Umar Khalid, now in
police custody along with Anirban Bhattacharya, which took no time to
brand him as a “terrorist mastermind” because he comes from a minority
community. Moreover, how can we expect justice from this judiciary, when
Kanhaiya Kumar, the JNUSU president along with teachers and journalists
were attacked at the supposed altar of justice, the court? The
assailants of Hindu Rashtra are in a frenzy to turn our universities
into factories and students into unthinking machines while the judiciary
has become a mute spectator to the tragi-comedy of “Indian democracy”
unfolding on the streets and in media. Amidst all of this, lies
conveniently buried the sedition case slapped against Prof. SAR Geelani
from Delhi University who was arrested by the Delhi Police for merely
organising a meeting against the killing of Afzal Guru on 10th February.
DSU condemns the attack by right wing forces on JNUSU president,
Kanhaiya Kumar, JNU teachers and journalists in the Patiala House Court
where ironically lawyers who are supposed to uphold judiciary abused and
physically harassed them. Instead of protecting the unarmed students
and teachers, the police acted as the hired goons of the State. We
condemn the intervention of Delhi police and demand that police forces
are immediately removed from university campus. We appeal to the
progressive sections inside and outside campus to stand in solidarity
and demand the release of Kanhaiya Kumar, Anirban Bhattacharya and Umar
Khalid who are in police custody under false charges and all the
students and activists persecuted by mob hysteria based on the rumours
and lies spread by ABVP. We demand the immediate and unconditional
release of Prof. SAR Geelani. We condemn the witch hunting of Muslim and
Kashmiri students inside an outside the campus. We also reject the
profiling of DSU in the Parliament and media based on the false claims
of ABVP lumpens. This is a time for us to stand united against fascism
and fight together for justice, our right to dissent and finally to
build a truly democratic society.
Let us resolve to fight together for an equal world free from all oppression!
Scrap Enquiry! Revoke charges of sedition against Students!
Release Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya immediately and unconditionally!
Release Prof SAR Geelani immediately and unconditionally!
Stop selective witch hunt of students!
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