16 February 2016

Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar Vice Chancellor Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi-110 067, India

Dear Prof. Kumar,

We are writing, as a group of academics, to express our deep disappointment with your actions in the event leading up to the arrest of several students last week.

We understand that last Tuesday, a student group organized a rally to commemorate the death anniversary of Afzal Guru. The police alleges that some of the students voiced controversial opinions. The police then proceeded to arrest the president of the JNU Students Union, Kanhaiya Kumar, and charged him with sedition. This has been followed by a number of further arrests. What is most disturbing is that the JNU administration appears to have defended and aided these repressive actions by the police, rather than defending the students who were involved in a non-violent activity.

The arrest of the president of the JNUSU is especially troublesome since he was not even an organizer of the rally but merely present to express his solidarity. However, even as far the organizers and the speakers at the event are concerned, we hope that you recognize that expressing controversial views in a peaceful forum cannot be equated with sedition. For example, many people believe that Afzal Guru was let down by a lack of appropriate legal representation in his trial, and that his execution was therefore a grave miscarriage of justice. One may agree or disagree with this viewpoint — and, indeed, signatories to this letter hold different positions — but we are unanimous that students should have the right to freely discuss this issue. This is such a basic pillar of academic ethics that we were dismayed by the statement made by the registrar of JNU, Mr. Bupinder Zutshi, who reportedly said "The government of India hanged him [Afzal Guru] after declaring him a terrorist. How could we allow them to organise an anti-Indian programme?" This indicates a complete lack of appreciation of the concept of academic freedom.

India is a vast country, and no one group can define what it means to be "nationalist" or "anti-national" is, in specific terms of positions to hold and causes to support. The country's fabric is strong enough to accommodate a plurality of views. It is the attempt to suppress differing viewpoints that is genuinely damaging for the country's democratic ethos. Further, we believe that creativity in all branches of knowledge — surely in the interest of our nation — finds highest expression in a milieu that does not put constraints on the freedom of thought.

It is ironic that this attempt to suppress dissent occurred at one of the country's leading Universities. A University is a site where contesting ideas are explored and where students should be able to freely debate and discuss various views, including controversial ones, without the threat of state action.

Senior members of the government have aggressively targeted your students. The JNU administration should have protected its students against these attacks and charges that have also vitiated the police investigation. We are deeply disappointed that you have failed to carry out this responsibility.

We hope that you will take urgent corrective steps to ensure that the police releases the arrested students, and also to ensure that it drops the unsubstantiated charges against them. We also hope that, in the future, you will take steps to protect freedom of speech on the JNU campus.

The individuals listed here have signed this letter in their personal capacity. Institutional affiliations are listed for purposes of identification, and this letter does not indicate the official positions of these organizations. Names are arranged in alphabetical order.

Name Affiliation Position Aanayat Bhat Indian Institute of Science,Bangalore student Abhijith M S IIT Hyderabad student Abhik Jash Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics researcher Abhishek Atreya Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad researcher International Centre for Theoretical Sciences faculty Abu Anand Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore student Adhip Agarwala Indian Institute of Science researcher Adway Mitra Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore researcher Ajin K Prakash Alpha College of Engineering student Ajit M. Srivastava Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar faculty Alok Laddha Chennai Mathematical Institute, Chennai faculty Alok Tiwari Indian Institute of Science researcher Alokmay Datta Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics faculty Amar Sapra Indian Institute of Management Bangalore faculty Amit Basole Azim Premji University and UMass-Boston faculty Amit Gupta Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore researcher Amit Singh National Centre of Biological Sciences, TIFR, Bangalore student Amitabh Bhattacharya Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay faculty Amitabh Joshi Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research faculty Amitabha Bandyopadhyay Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur faculty Amrita laha Wildlife Institute of India researcher Anand I National Institute of Technology Tiruchirapalli researcher Anand Sasidharan Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore student Ananth Kamath Indian Institute of Science student Ananthu James Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scietific Research researcher Ananyo Maitra LPTMS, France researcher Angelie Multani Indian Institute of Technology Delhi faculty Anilkumar KV Democratic Alliance for Knowledge Freedom Member Anindita Bera University of Calcutta and Harish Chandra Research Institute student Anindita Bidisha Chatterjee Wildlife Institute of India,Dehradun researcher Anindita Brahma Indian Institute of Science researcher Anindya Banerji Jadavpur University, Kolkata student Anindya Bhattacharya University of York faculty Anirban Mukhopadhyay Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai faculty Anu Krishna Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore student Anupama Mahajan National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore student Anupama Potluri University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad faculty Anwesa Bhattacharya Indian Institute of Science research associate Apoorva Nagar Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology, Trivandrum faculty Archisman Ghosh International Centre for Theoretical Sciences of TIFR researcher Arijit Chatterjee Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics researcher Aritra Bandyopadhyay Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics researcher Arpan Bhattacharyya Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics researcher Arpan Maiti Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics researcher Ashim Roy Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics researcher Harish-Chandra Research Institute faculty Asit K. De SINP Kolkata Aslamuddin TIFR-Hyderabad student Atish Dabholkar International Center for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy faculty Atul Chokshi Indian Institute of Science faculty Aurnab Ghose Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune faculty Avishek Das Indian Institute of Science researcher B.NIKHITH Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad student Bhanu Pratap Das Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan faculty Bharathi Rajeswaran Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore researcher Bhargav kumar IIT Hyderabad researcher Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhavtosh Bansal Kolkata faculty Bidisa Das Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science faculty Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bijoy John Mathew Thiruvananthapuram student Bikram Phookun St Stephen's College, Delhi faculty Biman Nath Raman Research Institute faculty Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bindusar Sahoo Thiruvananthapuram faculty International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Binu K Sasi Trieste, Italy researcher Bipin C M Wildlife Institute of India researcher Birenjith P S Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore researcher Biswajit Banerjee Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics researcher Bittu Karthik University of Hyderabad faculty Carol Upadhya National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore faculty Chandan Samanta Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore researcher Chandana Anusha Yale University student Chandra Kant Mishra International Centre for Theoretical Sciences researcher Chandrashekar C M The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai faculty Chandrashekar K A The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai researcher Chetan Singh Solanki Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay faculty D C V Mallik Indian Institute of Astrophysics faculty D Parthasarathy Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay faculty

D.P.Sen Gupta National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore Daigy Varghese IIT Hyderabad student Dattaraj Dhuri Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai researcher Deb Sankar Banerjee Raman Research Institute student Debabrata Phukon Tezpur University researcher Debaditya Bhattacharya University of Calcutta faculty Debadrita Ghosh Raman Research Institute student Debarghya Banerjee Leiden University, The Netherlands researcher Debasis Sengupta Indian Institute of Science faculty Debraj Chakrabarti Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI, USA faculty Deepa Agashe National Centre for Biological Sciences faculty Deepak DSouza Indian Institute of Science Bangalore faculty Deepak Malghan Indian Institute of Management Bangalore faculty Deya Das Indian Institute of science researcher Dileep Jatkar Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad faculty Dinesh Mohan IIT Delhi faculty Dipankar TREELabs, Mumbai faculty Diptarup nandi Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore student E. Arunan Indian Institute of Science faculty Feroz Musthafa Centre for Cellular and Molcular Platforms other G Vijay University of Hyderabad faculty Garga Chatterjee Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata faculty Gaurav Mendiratta Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore student Gautam Ganapathy Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay researcher geetam tiwari Indian Institute of Technology Delhi faculty Gitanjali Yadav National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi faculty Govindarajan T R Chennai Mathematical Institute, Chennai Gyan Bhanot , USA faculty Haris Uzhunnan Christ University, Bangalore researcher Harjinder Singh Indian Institute of Information Technology faculty Himadri Shekhar Dhar Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad researcher Indrajit Tah TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences researcher Ishani Sinha Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bangalore researcher Jayant Murthy Indian Institute of Astrophysics faculty Jenny S Tata Institute of Social Sciences researcher Jishnu Sadasivan Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore student Joby Joseph University of Hyderabad faculty Joseph Samuel Raman Research Institute faculty Jyoti Dalal JNCASR, Bangalore researcher Jean Dreze Ranchi University faculty Kabir Husain National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR, Bangalore student Kajari Gupta IISER Pune researcher Kallol Paul TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences researcher Kannan U.M Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad researcher Karan N. Khirade Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad researcher Kaushik Bhattacharya Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur faculty Kaushik Bhattacharya IIT Kanpur faculty Kazi Rafsanjani Amin Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore researcher Kesavan Subburam TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences researcher Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Koel Das Kolkata faculty Koushik Dutta Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics faculty Krishna Hanumanthu Chennai Mathematical Institute faculty Krishna Maddaly The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai faculty Kritika Agarwal Government Law College student Kunal Joshi Ashoka University faculty Kuntal Ghosh Indian Statistical Institute faculty M. V. Ramana faculty M. Vijayabaskar Madras Institute of Development Studies, chennai faculty Raman Research Institute faculty Madhukar S Raman Research Institute, Bangalore student Madhusudan Roy Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics faculty Madhusudhan Raman Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai researcher Maitreyee Saha SarkarSaha Institute of Nuclear Physics faculty Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Malancha Ta Kolkata Faculty Manjari Gupta Indian Institute of Science researcher Manjari Roy Wildlife Institute of India researcher Manoj Gopalkrishnan Tata Institute of Fundamental Research faculty Manoj Puravankara Tata Institute of Fundamental Research faculty Manuj Mukherjee Indian Institute of Science student Mihir Pandey Ramjas College (University of Delhi) faculty Mithun Kumar Mitra Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay faculty National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Monisha Bhattacharya Fundamental Research researcher Mrinmoy Mukherjee TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences researcher Mrunalini IIT Hyderabad researcher Mugdha Sarkar Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics researcher Myna V Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore researcher N G Prasad Indian Institute of Science Education and Resarch Mohali faculty N Purendra Prasad University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad faculty N. Raghavendra Harish-Chandra Research Institute faculty Nairit Sur Tata Institute of Fundamental Research researcher Nairita Pal Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore student Nandu Gopan Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research researcher Naosad Alam Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics researcher Naveen Gaur Dayal Singh College (University of Delhi) faculty Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Naveen Surendran Thiru'puram faculty NC Narayanan Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay faculty Neenu Suresh National Law School of India University researcher Nihav Dhawale National Center for Biological Sciences and Yale University student Nirmalendu Acharyya Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium researcher Niruj Ramanujam National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Pune Scientific Officer Nishaan Ponnuru Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education researcher Nitin Rai Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment faculty Oindrila Deb Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore researcher Om Damani Indian Institute of Technology Bombay faculty P Karuna Kumari IIT Hyderabad researcher P.K Abdul Rahiman University of Madras, Chennai faculty Palash Baran Pal Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics faculty Palash Baran Pal Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics faculty Papi Reddy Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore researcher pappu acharya TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences student Parasar Mohanty Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur faculty Parswa Nath TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences junior research fellow Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Partho Sarothi Ray Kolkata faculty Pinaki Chaudhuri The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai faculty Pooja Prasad Indian Institute of Technology Bombay student Prabhu R Nott Indian Institute of Science faculty Prajval Shastri Indian Institute of Astrophysics faculty Prajwel Joseph Bishop Cotton W. C. C. Bangalore faculty Prasanta Char Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics researcher Prathik CJ The Institute of Mathematical Sciences student Prathyusha K. R. Universtiy of Dundee, United Kingdom researcher Pratik Majumdar Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics faculty Pravabati Chingangbam Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore faculty Praveen S Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore student Preethi Meher Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research Kalpakkam researcher Preeti Kharb Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore faculty Pritha Chandra Indian Institute of Technology Delhi faculty Priya Mahadevan S.N.Bose Centre, Kolkata faculty Priyanka Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scietific Research researcher Probal Dasgupta Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata faculty Procheta Mallik Innovation and Science Promotion Foundation researcher Proteep Mallik Azim Premji University faculty R Jayasimha Reddy IIT Hyderabad student R.VIMALAVIDYA chennai Raghunath J Indian Institute of Science student Rahul De Azim Premji University faculty Rahul De' Indian Institute of Management Bangalore Rahul G R Indian Institute of Science student Rahul Menon St Xavier's College, Mumbai faculty Rahul Pandey Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow faculty Rahul Siddharthan The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai faculty Rahul Singh Indian Institute of Management Bangalore student Rahul Varman IIT Kanpur faculty Rajani Raman Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics researcher Rajdeep Sensarma TIFR Mumbai faculty International Centre for Theoretical Sciences faculty Raktim Abir Aligarh Muslim University faculty Ramray Bhat Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore faculty Ranjini Bandyopadhyay Raman Research Institute faculty Ranjith Kallyani IIT Bombay researcher Ravi Kunjwal The Institute of Mathematical Sciences researcher Ravi Sankannavar Indian Institute of Technology Bombay researcher Ravinder K Banyal Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore researcher Reetika Khera IIT Delhi faculty Resmi Lekshmi Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology, Trivandrum faculty Reuben George Stephen National University of Singapore student Rituparno Mandal Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore researcher Rolla Das National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore researcher Ron Sunny IISER-Pune researcher S. Akshay Indian Institute of Technology Bombay faculty S. M. Bhattacharjee Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar faculty S.B.Balaji Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore student Safiul Alam Mollick Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar researcher Saientan Bag Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore student Saikat Ghosh Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur faculty Sajad Ahmad Bhat Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics researcher Saman Habib Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow scientist Sambo Sarkar IIT HYDERABAD student Samriddhi Sankar Ray International Centre for Theoretical Sciences faculty National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Sandeep Krishna Fundamental Research faculty Sandesh Sanjay Gade PES Institute of Technology - Bangalore South Campus researcher Sandip Varkey George Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune student Sanjib Sabhapandit Raman Research Institute faculty Sanjit Chatterjee IISc Sankar Basu Linkoping University, Sweden researcher Santanu Das Raman Research Institute, Bangalore student Saswati Ganguly HHU, Germany researcher Satyajit Chowdhury Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics researcher Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Satyaki Mazumder Kolkata faculty Saumia P S The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai researcher Saurav Islam Indian Institute of Science student Saurish Chakrabarty International Centre for Theoretical Sciences researcher Savitha Suresh Babu National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore student Sayantani Bhattacharyya Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur faculty SHAIK Faruk Azam Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad student Shan S Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore researcher Shanthi S.K. India Development Foundation, Gurgaon faculty Sharad Lele Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment faculty Sharath Ananthamurthy Bangalore University faculty Sharmila Purkayastha Miranda House, University of Delhi faculty Shikha Bisht Wildlife Institute of India researcher Tata Institute of Fundamental Research faculty Shiva Shankar Chennai Mathematical Institute faculty Shivali Tukdeo National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore faculty Shobha Madan IIT Kanpur faculty Shubha Tewari TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences faculty Shweta Dalal Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad student Siddharth K J Indian Institute of Management Bangalore student Siddhartha Chaudhuri Indian Institute of Technology Bombay faculty Sirisha Naidu Wright Staet University, Dayton, Ohio faculty Sitabhra Sinha The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai faculty Sk Abdul faruque Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics researcher Sk Raj Hossein Raman Research Institute, Bangalore student Sk Sazim Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar researcher Smarajit Karmakar TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Hyderabad faculty Snehanshu Saha PES University faculty Soling Zimik Indian Institute of Science researcher Somyadip Thakur TIFR researcher Soumitro Banerjee IISER Kolkata faculty Soundarya Iyer National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore student Sourav Kumar Dey Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics researcher Souvik Mandal Indian Institute of Science student Spenta Wadia International Centre for Theoretical Sciences of TIFR faculty Sreekrishna Varma National Centre for Biological Sciences student Raja Sridhar Narayanan The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai researcher Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research faculty Sruthi C K JNCASR,Bangalore student Subhabrata Majumdar Tata Institute of Fundamental Research researcher Subhadip Ghosh Institute Of Physics, Bhubaneswar researcher Subham Rath Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore student Subhankar Chakraborty All India People's Science Network researcher Subhashis Banerjee IIT Delhi faculty Subhojoy Gupta Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore faculty Subhradeep Mistry Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore researcher Subhro Bhattacharjee International Centre for Theoretical Sciences faculty Subroto Mukerjee Indian Institute of Science faculty Suchetana Goswami S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata student Sudakshina Ghosh University of Calcutta faculty Sudip Banerjee Wildlife Institute of India researcher Sudipto Muhuri Department of Physics, Savitribai Phule Pune University faculty Suheel Mohammad Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad student Sujay Basu Jadavpur University (Retd) Faculty Sujay K Ashok Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai faculty Sumathi Rao Harish-Chandra Research Institute faculty Sumati Surya Raman Research Institute faculty Sumilan Banerjee Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel researcher Sumit Haldar Indian Institute of Science,Bangalore researcher Sumit Kumar International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, TIFR researcher Sumit R. Das University of Kentucky, USA faculty Sumithra Sankaran Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore student Sundar S Chennai mathematical institute faculty Sundar Sarukkai Manipal University faculty Sunil Bharadwaj JNCASR, Bangalore student Supratik Chakraborty Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay faculty Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Supratim Sengupta Kolkata faculty Surajit Sengupta TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences faculty Suresh Govindarajan Indian Institute of Technology, Madras faculty Sushma Mallik Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore faculty Sutirth Dey IISER-Pune faculty Sutirtha Dutta Wildlife Institute of India researcher Suvrat Raju International Centre for Theoretical Sciences faculty Swagato Sanyal Tata Institute of Fundamental Research student T. V. H. Prathamesh Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai researcher Tarun Deep Saini Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore faculty Trilochan Sastry Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore faculty Triparno Bandyopadhyay University of Calcutta researcher Tulasi Ram Reddy Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore researcher Vaibhhav Sinha National Centre for Biological Sciences student Vaisakh V Indian Institute of Science researcher Varuni Prabhakar Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai researcher Venu Madhav Indian Institute of Science faculty Govindu Vijay Ravikumar Chennai Mathematical Institute researcher Vijayakumar Solaiselvam Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore student Vikram Vyas St. Stephen's College, Delhi University faculty Vinod John Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore faculty Vipul Vivek Tata Institute of Social Sciences student Vishwesha Guttal Indian Institute of Science faculty VVNS Pradeep IIT Hyderabad researcher Yogeshwar Prasad Indian Institute of Science researcher Zaheer Ahmed Sayeed neurologist in Practise faculty