Solidarity Statement Against Police Brutality at Jamia Millia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University We, the undersigned, condemn in the strongest possible terms the police brutality in Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, and the ongoing illegal siege and curfew imposed on Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. On 15th December 2019 Delhi police in riot-gear illegally entered the Jamia Millia campus and attacked students who are peacefully protesting the Citizenship Amendment Act. The Act bars Muslims from India’s neighboring countries from the acquisition of Indian citizenship. It contravenes the right to equality and secular citizenship enshrined in the Indian constitution. On the 15th at JMIU, police fired tear gas shells, entered hostels and attacked students studying in the library and praying in the mosque. Over 200 students have been severely injured, many who are in critical condition. Because of the blanket curfew and internet blockage imposed at AMU, we fear a similar situation of violence is unfolding, without any recourse to the press or public. The peaceful demonstration and gathering of citizens does not constitute criminal conduct. The police action in the Jamia Millia Islamia and AMU campuses is blatantly illegal under the constitution of India. We stand in unconditional solidarity with the students, faculty and staff of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University, and express our horror at this violent police and state action. With them, we affirm the right of citizens to peaceful protest and the autonomy of the university as a non-militarized space for freedom of thought and expression. The brutalization of students and the attack on universities is against the fundamental norms of a democratic society. As teachers, students, scholars and members of civil society across the world, we are watching with extreme concern the situation unfolding at Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University. We refuse to remain silent at the violence unleashed on our colleagues (students, staff, and faculty) peacefully protesting the imposition of a discriminatory and unjust law. LIST OF SIGNATORIES S.No. Name (First and Last) Affiliation/Institution 1 Romila Thapar Jawaharlal Nehru University 2 Noam Chomsky University of Arizona 3 Tanika sarkar Retired Professor of History. JNU 4 Judith Butler University of California, Berkeley 5 Zoya Hasan Professor Emerita, Jawaharlal Nehru University 6 Uma Chakravarti Miranda House, Delhi University (retd) 7 Partha Chatterjee Columbia University, New York 8 Veena Das Johns Hopkins University 9 Rajmohan Gandhi University of Ilinois at Urbana Champaign 10 Nivedita Menon JNU 11 Sheldon Pollock Columbia University 12 Homi K. Bhabha Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of the Humanities, Harvard University 13 Akeel Bilgrami Columbia University 14 Sritama Chatterjee University of Pittsburgh 15 Prerna Subramanian Queens University 16 Shuddhabrata Sengupta Raqs Media Collective 17 Aarti Sethi Harvard University 18 Poulomi Saha Assistant Professor, University of California, Berkeley 19 Rajorshi Das PhD student, University of Iowa 20 Christian Haesemeyer Professor of Mathematics, University of Melbourne 21 Akeel Bilgrami Columbia University 22 Rashi Mishra Stanford University 23 Rosalind Galt Professor, King's College London 24 Saikat Mukherjee Virginia Tech 25 Sharad Chari Berkeley 26 Sarah Mariam Jamia Millia Islamia 27 Sreyashi Ray University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, US 28 Sumeet Agarwal IIT Delhi 29 Drishadwati Bargi University of Minnesota 30 Dr Cat Moir University of Sydney, School of Languages and Cultures 31 Arundhati Ghosh Jadavpur University 32 Sohini Chattopadhyay Columbia University 33 Zaid Al Baset St. Xavier's College, Kolkata 34 Farooqui Masoom Shamim IIT DELHI 35 Rituparna Sengupta IIT Delhi 36 Mohammad Atif IIT Delhi 37 Waquar Ahmed Associate Professor, University of North Texas 38 Surya Prakash IIT Delhi 39 Matthew Hubbell University of Chicago 40 Moumita Sen University of Oslo 41 Isaar Ahmad IIT Delhi 42 Bidisha Bhattacharjee Visva-bharati 43 Manisha Kuhar IIT DELHI 44 Afeeda K T University of Delhi 45 Anurag Singu IIT DELHI 46 Mohan j Dutta, Dean’s Chair Professor Massey University 47 Neilesh Bose University of Victoria 48 Kriti Budhiraja University of Minnesota 49 Anjali Arondekar Dept. of Feminist Studies, Univ of California, Santa Cruz 50 Ashish Kumar IIT Kanpur Associate Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies, University of Illinois 51 Ronak K. Kapadia at Chicago 52 Saumitra Chandratreya School of the Art Institute of Chicago/ Morean Arts Center/ Creative Pinellas 53 Chris Taylor Associate Professor of English, University of Chicago 54 Priyamvada Gopal University of Cambridge 55 Srirupa Roy Professor, University of Göttingen 56 Souradeep Roy Ashoka University 57 Themeem T St Stephen’s College, Delhi 58 Nick Mitchell Associate Professor, Feminist Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz 59 Deepti Sreeram Ashoka University 60 Debadatta Chakraborty University of Massachusetts, Amherst 61 Jyotsna George Campaigns Manager - Jhatkaa.org 62 Jyotsna Kapur Southern Illinois University, Carbondale 63 Radhika Govinda University of Edinburgh, UK 64 Pujita Guha University of California 65 Promona Sengupta Freie University Berlin 66 Punita Maheshwari Jhatkaa.org 67 Amit Sengupta Executive Editor Hardnews magazine 68 Srimati Basu University of Kentucky 69 T P Sabitha University of Delhi 70 Chandak Sengoopta Birkbeck College, University of London, UK 71 Aakshi Magazine Ashoka University 72 Zahra Hayat UC Berkeley 73 Sujaan Mukherjee Jadavpur University 74 Arushi G K Majha University of Cambridge 75 Karen Tongson University of Southern California 76 Sayandeb Chowdhury Ambedkar University Delhi 77 Sucharita Sen Jawaharlal Nehru University 78 Ishita Tiwary Concordia University 79 Monomita Kriishna University of Hawaii 80 Ruhul Abid Health and Education for All, USA 81 Mudita Chauhan-Mubayi Quizcraft Global S.No. Name (First and Last) Affiliation/Institution 82 Jasveni Kaur TIPS 83 Alok Yadav IIT Delhi 84 Taiyaba Ali Jamia Millia Islamia 85 Paulomi Sharma University of Minnesota 86 Chandrayee Chatterjee Georgia State University 87 Sania Ahmad Alumni/ Jamia Millia Islamia 88 Jinee Lokaneeta Drew University 89 Svati Joshi Delhi university 90 Jairus Banaji SOAS, University of London 91 Shreya Varma Sree Krishna Medical and Research Centre 92 Srinidhi Raghavan Independent activist and writer, Hyderabad 93 Marva M Writer and Artist 94 Suneela Mubayi Cambridge university, Uk 95 Sonal Kumari IIT Delhi 96 Aarathi Ganesan Journalist, The Bastion 97 Prateek Vijayavargia Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) 98 Shelley Feldman Cornell University 99 Ruma Zaidi Government medical college chandigarh 100 Sharika Thiranagama Stanford University 101 Nargis Vasundhara Delhi School of Economics, DU 102 Zheeshan Durrani Software engineering 103 Sandeep Mertia New York University 104 B. Ali. Ibrahim Cseg 105 Erum Saeed Aligarh Muslim University 106 Shahroz ahmad Sharda university 107 Naren Singh Independent Media Academic 108 Himakshi P Azim Premji University alumna/ Symbiosis Law School alumna 109 Kashish Vikram Azim Premji University 110 Bushra Abrar AMU 111 Esha Sood Indira Gandhi National Open University 112 Kanika Kanojia IIMC, Delhi 113 Divya Jaim Alumn- Azim Premji University 114 Karuna Mantena Columbia University 115 Palani Thannatchi Thamizhagam 116 ARCHANA SHIVAN Azim Premji university 117 Arpita Mukherjee Indian Institute of Mass Communication 118 Shahnaz Ali JMI & AMU alumna 119 Varun Sharma Azim Premji University 120 Zoha Mahdi Marketing Consultant 121 Rahul Nigam BITS 122 Lalit Vachani University of Göttingen, Germany 123 Arani Basu Humboldt University 124 Rajat Roy Presidency University 125 Abhishek Nigam Trent University 126 Tarique Anwar JMI/AMU Alumnus 127 Deepa Nair Travancore Medical College 128 Tanyaa Sharma Aarambh Waldorf School 129 Yashpal Jogdand Indian Institute of Technology Delhi 130 Surya Ghildiyal IHEID,Geneva 131 Meghana Rao Assistant Professor, Azim Premji University 132 Surajit C Mukhopadhyay Amity University Chhattisgarh 133 Siddhi Pendke Independent 134 Daman Mohan Kumar None 135 Debashis Ghoshal JNU New Delhi 136 Shahnawaz Ali Raihan University of Oxford 137 Sarandha Jain Doctoal and Teaching Fellow, Columbia University, New York 138 Partha Partim Roy Chowdhury Calcutta University 139 Jitender Singh B. Tech. Student IIT Delhi 140 Tania Tauro Indian 141 Dr. Jafar Paramboor UTM Malaysia 142 Parikshit Dutta Asutosh College 143 Siddarth Mehra Delhi High Court 144 Prakhar Raj Delhi College of Arts & Commerce, University of Delhi (2016-19) 145 Sangay Mishra Drew University, Madison, New Jersey 146 Haritha Songola Tricontinenal Institute of Social Research 147 Antra Jha School of Law, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) 148 Deepti Mulgund Kunsthistoriches Institut in Florenz 149 Agniv Dass Jadavpur University 150 Ritika Kaushik University of Chicago 151 Devin Choudhury University of California, Berkeley 152 Pranay Kumar Azim Prem ji University 153 Subham Dutta Chowdhury TIFR Mumbai 154 Ravinder Kaur Copenhagen 155 Shivam Rastogi MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia 156 Professor Dibyesh Anand University of Westminster 157 Alpana Sharma Delhi university wi supp 158 LALIT SONI Mnnit Allahabad 159 Shreya Sinha University of Cambridge 160 AMRITHA SRUTHI JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY, New Delhi, INDIA 161 Soham Bhattacharyya MCRC 162 Ian Parker Emeritus Professor of Management, University of Leicester 163 Proiti Seal Acharya Danube University, Krems 164 Asim Siddiqui