116 Students, Alumni and Faculty of NLU Jodhpur Issue a Statement in Solidarity With JNU Students

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this statement solely belong to those who have endorsed it, and cannot be ascribed to National Law University, Jodhpur as an institution, its administration, faculty, and staff or to any member of National Law University, Jodhpur or its alumni who have not signed the statement.

We, the undersigned students, alumni, and faculty of National Law University, Jodhpur, stand in solidarity with the students, faculty and staff of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and strongly condemn the actions of the police within the university premises.

We disapprove of the free reign given to the police to question, detain, and arrest any student or faculty member for voicing their opinions and political beliefs.

The autonomy of a university as a haven for freedom of thought and expression cannot, and should not be curbed. Universities in India have been, and should continue to be forums for spirited debate on all issues, including those concerning fundamental political notions.

It is the responsibility of the University to autonomously address any incident within its premises, without the intervention of state forces.

It should be noted that peaceful debate and protest is the bedrock of our nation, and it is appalling to note the use of state backed violence to control dissent, especially within a place of learning.

The charge of sedition was initially used to curb anti-establishment thought in the colonial era, and it is ironic that the state chooses to use this vestige of oppression to suppress students today.

Furthermore, the law of sedition as has been held by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, only applies to speech which is an incitement to violence or public disorder and thus it does not apply to the present factual scenario.

We denounce the actions of the state and the police, and demand that universities be given the autonomy to challenge prevailing ideas, nurture dialogue and create an environment that fosters debate.

As members of the legal fraternity, we also strongly condemn the actions of the lawyers who manhandled the journalists, students and faculty members of JNU at the Patiala Court House on 15th February, 2016, and attacked Kanhaiya Kumar on 17th February, 2016.

Bias and prejudice have no place in the courts of justice, and we urge the legal community to uphold the sanctity of law within our judicial system.

We support the investigation into the incidents at Patiala House, and call for expeditious action in relation to the same.

It is extremely important that we recognize: (a) that the need to protect our fundamental right of expression, includes within its ambit the right to dissent, and, (b) that this fundamental right of expression is crucial to ensure that our society is open, and tolerant of critical thought.

In pursuance of the above, we demand that the police presence within the university premises be discontinued, normalcy be restored, charges be withdrawn against the students of JNU, and the rights of all members of the university be safeguarded.

In addition we demand that charges against Kanhaiya Kumar be dropped, and he and his family be provided protection in light of the present situation.

Dated/- 18 February 2016

1. Aaditya Ranbir Sahgal, Batch of 2020
2. Aayush Singhvi, Batch of 2011, Advocate
3. Abhinav Kumar, Batch of 2016
4. Abhyudaya Shishodia
5. Achyuth A
6. Afreen Hashmi
7. Aishwarya Rao, Batch of 2015, Advocate
8. Akansha Dubey, Batch of 2013
9. Akash Anurag
10. Alokita Basu, Batch of 2012
11. Aman, Batch of 2012, Lawyer
12. Amrit Singh, Batch of 2010
13. Amrita Shivaprasad, Batch of 2018
14. Anila Sarah Baskar, Batch of 2016
15. Anina D’Cunha, Batch of 2018
16. Aritra Roy, Batch 2013
17. Arnab Roy, Batch of 2011
18. Ashwin Mishra, Batch of 2016
19. Aswin A Iyer, Batch of 2015
20. Ayan Sinha
21. Azal Khan, Batch of 2013, Advocate, Supreme Court of India
22. Barathi Nakkeeran, Batch of 2016
23. Bhavana Sunder, Batch of 2017
24. Burjis, Batch of 2013
25. Dharmita Prasad, Batch of 2013, Advocate
26. Dishi Bhomawat, Batch of 2017
27. Diva Devarsha, Batch of 2015
28. Divya Gupta, Batch of 2018
29. Drishti Chauhan, Batch of 2019
30. G Sneha Sindhu, Batch of 2013, Advocate
31. Gargi Mishra, Batch of 2013
32. Gargi Yadav, Batch of 2008
33. Geetanjali Sharma, Batch of 2013
34. Geetanjali Sharma, Batch of 2013
35. Ilyas Laway, Batch of 2016
36. Inayat Singh Kakar, Batch of 2013
37. Inika Charles, Batch of 2018
38. Iti Mishra, Batch of 2020
39. Jyotsna Chowdhury, Batch of 2012
40. Kanika Sood, Batch of 2017
41. Kartavi Satyarthi
42. Karun Pahwa, Batch of 2017
43. Keerti Ujwal, Postgraduate Batch of 2010
44. Ketan Paul, Batch of 2012, Advocate, Supreme Court of India
45. Kevin Peter, Batch of 2013
46. Kranti Kapoor, Assistant Professor
47. Krishnendu Sen, Batch of 2011
48. Krithika Ashok, Batch of 2011
49. Kruti Venkatesh, Batch of 2017
50. Lakshmi Neelakantan, Batch of 2013
51. Madhav Sharma, Batch of 2020
52. Manreet Khara, Batch of 2017
53. Mansie, Batch of 2010
54. Manu Thadikkaran, Batch of 2013
55. Meghana Chandra, Batch of 2013
56. Meghna Sengupta, Batch of 2017
57. Mihika Gupta, Batch of 2018
58. Mitali Agrawal, Batch of 2016
59. Mohit Prasad
60. Nabeel Malik
61. Nabil, Batch of 2015
62. Nakul Nayak, Batch of 2015
63. Namrata Amarnath, Batch of 2014
64. Nandini Seth, Batch of 2013
65. Neeti Shikha, Assistant Professor 2011-2013
66. Ninni Susan Thomas, Batch of 2015, Advocate, Supreme Court of India
67. NS Tanvi, Lawyer, Batch of 2015
68. Pavitra Venkateswaran, Batch of 2016
69. Pradnya Talekar, Batch of 2013
70. Pratham, Batch of 2017
71. Prianka Mohan, Batch of 2013
72. Priyadarshi Banerjee, Batch of 2011, Advocate
73. Priyank Mangal, Batch of 2015, Advocate
74. Ragini Gupta
75. Rahul Meena, Batch of 2011
76. Rajarshi Sen, Batch of 2009
77. Rameshwari Rao, Batch of 2013
78. Rhea Jha, Batch of 2017
79. Rishabh Kalra
80. Riyan Vatcha, Batch of 2019
81. Roshni Namboodiry, Batch of 2013, Advocate
82. Sadhvi Mohindru, Alumni, Batch of 2013
83. Salil Singh, Dropout, Batch of 2013
84. Samvid Shetty, Batch of 2019
85. Sandeep Suresh, Research Associate, Daksh India
86. Sanjana Srikumar, Batch of 2017
87. Sanjay Patnaik
88. Sanjna Pramod, Batch of 2014, Advocate, High Court of Karnataka
89. Sannoy Das, Batch of 2011
90. Sanskriti Sidana, Student, Batch of 2018
91. Saransh Kumar, Batch 2014, Advocate
92. Saumya Kumar, Batch of 2013
93. Sehar Aijaz, Batch of 2013
94. Shafali R. N., Batch of2019
95. Shatanik Chakrabarty, Batch of 2011
96. Shivangi Tyagi, Batch of 2015
97. Shraddha Kulhari, Batch of 2013
98. Shreya Munoth, Lawyer, Batch of 2013
99. Shreya Rajahamsa, Batch of 2016
100. Shreya Suresh, Batch 2013
101. Shruti Nayar
102. Shubharthi Das, Batch of 2020
103. Siddharth Varshney, Batch of 2019
104. Soumya Ramasubramaniam, Batch of 2011
105. Sujoy Chatterjee, Batch of 2013
106. Sunayana, Batch of 2018
107. Sushreet Pattanayak, Batch 2014
108. Tanya Agarwal, Lawyer, Delhi High Court
109. Unmekh Padmabhushan, Batch of 2020
110. Vaibhav Singh
111. Varun Narayan, Batch of 2015
112. Vasundhara Bhatia, Batch of 2013
113. Vasundhara, Batch of 2017
114. Yatin Bhushan, Law Officer/IOCL
115. Yuvraj Samant, Batch of 2015
116. Zara Kaiser, Batch of 2013