From Staff and Students at Queen Mary University of London

14 JANUARY 2020: As staff and students of Queen Mary University of London, we would like to register our concern and alarm regarding the recent spate of violence on Indian university campuses, notably at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi and at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Uttar Pradesh. The violence (including tear gas, water cannons and baton charges) at JMI and AMU was enacted by police authorities in the face of peaceful student protests; at JNU, it was enacted by right wing vigilantes, many from youth organisations affiliated with the ruling party of government, with late and insubstantial interventions by Delhi Police.

These acts of intimidation and attacks on the democratic right to express dissent come against the backdrop of increasingly authoritarian moves on the part of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led national government: notably in Kashmir, which has been on a security lockdown and communications blackout since August 2019 following the government’s revocation of the region’s special status as underwritten by the Constitution of India; and more recent attempts to impose a Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens which will have dire implications for Muslims in India, and which threatens the secular status of the Indian Republic. These developments follow a rising tide of targeted violence against Dalits, Muslims and other minorities in India since the election of Narendra Modi in 2014 and the consolidation of a right-wing Hindu nationalist politics at federal and state levels. We see these developments as related to and manifesting as a pattern of anti-democratic governance, constituting a dangerous slide towards authoritarianism.

Queen Mary University of London has long-standing links to India via its staff and students, including most recently through its participation in the Resilient Futures India Initiative (RFII) and the consolidation of specialist research activity through the QM South Asia Forum. The undersigned would like to make explicit their support for and solidarity with students and faculty at JMI, JNU and AMU, as well as other universities in India where principles of academic freedom and campus safety are under threat. We join colleagues across the world in demanding that perpetrators of violence on Indian university campuses are held accountable and that the Indian government as well as Higher Education administrators do everything within their remit to ensure universities remain sites for the free exchange of ideas and the peaceful expression of dissent, core facets of democracy. This includes in Kashmir, where many students and academics have been detained since 5 August 2019 and where there have been longstanding bans on student union activities. As part of this process, we support calls for an independent investigation into the attacks on Indian universities, with all findings fully disclosed to the public and acted upon by the national government.

Signed,

1. Hagit Borer, Professor, School of Languages, Linguistics and Film
2. Liam Campling, Professor, School of Business and Management
3. Carol Dezateux, Professor, Institute of Population Health Sciences
4. James Dunkerley, Professor, School of Politics and International Relations
5. Neve Gordon, Professor, School of Law
6. Penny Green, Professor, School of Law
7. Chris Griffiths, Professor of Primary Care, Institute of Population Health Sciences
8. Laleh Khalili, Professor of International Politics, School of Politics and International Relations
9. David McCoy, Professor, Institute of Population Health Sciences
10. Parvati Nair, Professor, School of Languages, Linguistics and Film
11. Angus Nicholls, Professor of Comparative Literature and German, School of Languages, Linguistics and Film
12. Yossef Rapoport, Professor, School of History
13. Miri Rubin, Professor, School of History
14. Bill Schwarz, Professor, School of English and Drama
15. Devyani Sharma, Professor, School of Languages, Linguistics and Film
16. Barbara Taylor, Professor, School of History
17. Sally Hull, Reader, Institute of Population Health Sciences
18. Lee Jones, Reader in International Politics, School of Politics and International Relations
19. Sally Kerry, Reader in Medical Statistics, Institute for Population Health Sciences
20. Amit S Rai, Reader in Creative Industries and Arts Organisation, School of Business and Management
21. Martin Welton, Reader, School of English and Drama
22. Elena Baglioni, Senior Lecturer in Global Supply Chain Management, School of Business and Management
23. Kambiz Boomla, Senior Lecturer, School of Medicine and Dentistry
24. Jenny Chamarette, Senior Lecturer in Film, School of Languages, Linguistics and Film
25. Sadhvi Dar, Senior Lecturer, School of Business and Management
26. Ashvin Immanuel Devasundaram, Senior Lecturer, School of Languages, Linguistics and Film
27. Ruth Fletcher, Senior Lecturer, School of Law
28. Clive Gabay, Senior Lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations
29. Nick Hostettler, Senior Lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations
30. Anuj Kapilashrami, Senior Lecturer in Global Health, Institute for Population Health Sciences
31. Jonathan Kennedy, Senior Lecturer, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry
32. Nivi Manchanda, Senior Lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations
33. Luisa Martí, Senior Lecturer, School of Languages, Linguistics and Film
34. Mustafa B Ozturk, Senior Lecturer, School of Business and Management
35. Philippa Williams, Senior Lecturer, School of Geography
36. Elizabeth Chatterjee, Lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations
37. Tanzil Chowdhury, Lecturer, School of Law
38. Mark Condos, Lecturer, School of History
39. Leslie James, Lecturer, School of History
40. Simon Layton, Lecturer, School of History
41. Rowan Lubbock, Lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations
42. Thomas MacManus, Lecturer, School of Law
43. Angus McNelly, Lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations
44. Eva Nanopoulos, Lecturer, School of Law
45. Andreas Papamichail, Lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations
46. Sharri Plonski, Lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations
47. Shital Pravinchandra, Lecturer in Comparative Literature, School of Languages, Linguistics and Film
48. Isobel Roele, Lecturer, School of Law
49. Hannah Schling, Lecturer, School of Geography
50. Leila Ullrich, Lecturer, School of Law
51. Hedi Viterbo, Lecturer, School of Law
52. Rob Waters, Lecturer, School of History
53. Penelope Woods, Lecturer, School of English and Drama
54. Waseem Yaqoob, Lecturer, School of History
55. Zaheer Ahmed, Informatics Research Assistant, Institute of Population Health Sciences
56. Benjamin Bland, Teaching Associate, School of History
57. Isabel Dostal, Research Assistant, Institute of Population Health Sciences
58. Matt Griffin, Teaching Associate, School of History
59. Meredith KD Hawking, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Institute of Population Health Sciences
60. Jonny Jones, Teaching Associate, School of Geography
61. Imran Khan, Research Manager, Institute of Population Health Sciences
62. Michael Intal Magcamit, Marie Curie Fellow, School of Politics and International Relations
63. Chris Moffat, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow, School of History
64. Emily Pfefer, Teaching Fellow, School of Business and Management
65. Kyla Sankey, Academic Writing Tutor, School of Business and Management
66. Akshi Singh, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of History
67. Kelvin Smith, Senior Data Analyst, Institute of Population Health Sciences
68. Ian Stewart, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, School of History
69. Alexis Wearmouth, Teaching Fellow, School of Business and Management
70. Gideon Woldeslassie, Student Recruitment and Widening Participation Manager, Marketing and Communications
71. Steve Bentel, PhD Candidate and Teaching Associate, School of History
72. Ida Roland Birkvad, PhD Candidate, School of Politics and International Relations
73. Edward Caddy, PhD Candidate, School of History
74. Karel Green, PhD Candidate, School of Physics and Astronomy [Alumna]
75. Faisal Hamadah, PhD Candidate, School of English and Drama
76. Salomé Letter, PhD Candidate, School of Politics and International Relations
77. Mirko Palestrino, PhD Candidate, School of Politics and International Relations
78. Martin Young, PhD Candidate, School of English and Drama
79. Deivi Norberg, MA Student, School of Geography
80. Catherine Blackburn, BA Student, School of Politics and International Relations
81. Khira Blohm, BA Student, School of Politics and International Relations
82. Emma Harris, BA Student, School of Politics and International Relations
83. Ruby Hugh, BA Student, School of Politics and International Relations
84. Muminul Islam, BA Student, School of Politics and International Relations
85. Pervin G Kaur, BA Student, School of Politics and International Relations
86. Sanaa Mariam, BA Student, School of Politics and International Relations
87. Safwat Muhit, BA Student, School of Politics and International Relations
88. Melissa Owens,BA Student, School of Politics and International Relations
89. Amy Suraya, BA Student, School of English and Drama
90. Zaira, BA Student, School of History