New Delhi: More than 2,000 scholars and activists have extended support to Delhi University professor Hany Babu, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Bhima Koregaon case on July 28.The signatories described the arrest of Babu as the continuation of an almost year-long “harassment” which began with a raid of his house on September 10, 2019. They pointed out that Babu has clearly stated that he has no connection with the incidents at Bhima-Koregaon, where violence was reported on January 1, 2018 during the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Bhima Koregaon battle.“Although violence at the event was triggered by the interference of Hindu right-wing groups, the incident was used as a pretext to arrest Dalit scholars and other activists,” the statement says. With the arrest of Babu, 12 people – all activists, lawyers and academics – have been arrested in relation to the case.The signatories said that as anti-caste scholars and activists, they understand that the framing of Babu, “a tireless anti-caste intellectual and activist”, is an attempt to penalise Dalit-Bahujans for raising their voice against casteist practices. They said that the DU professor has consistently worked to ensure equal opportunity for Dalit and Bahujan students and that he views social justice as one of the main aims of scholarship.Describing his arrest as the latest example of the current government’s attempt to “annihilate dissent and freedom of life for its vocal public”, they also expressed concern at the arrest of India’s important intellectuals and activists during the time of the global pandemic.“We, the national and international community of anti-caste scholars and activists, urge the Indian Government to acquit Dr. Hany Babu, in the interest of preserving democratic values and human rights,” they said.The full statement, along with selected names of the signatories, has been reproduced below. The complete list of signatories can be found here.§Statement of Solidarity & Plea to Free Prof. Hany BabuOn 28 July 2020, The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Dr. Hany Babu, Associate Professor at the Department of English in the University of Delhi, in connection with the Elgaar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon Case. On 24 July, Prof. Babu (54) was summoned to the NIA office in Mumbai as a witness where he was subsequently arrested after five days of questioning. He had requested to provide testimony via Video Conferencing considering the travel risk related to COVID-19, but his request was denied. As the questioning started, Prof. Babu was forced to provide false testimony against other activists and to accept allegations of being a functionary of the Maoists. Even under immense pressure, Prof. Babu, a conscientious teacher and activist, refused to concur with these lies. Because he stood for truth, Prof. Babu was arrested after five days of harassment in the name of interrogation.The arrest of Prof. Babu is the continuation of an almost year-long harassment which began with a raid of his house on 10 September 2019. The Pune Police, who claimed the raid was in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon case, confiscated his laptop and mobile phones as well as barred him from using his social media handles. Prof. Babu has clearly stated that he has no connection in any way whatsoever with the incidents at Bhima-Koregaon. The Bhima-Koregaon case is related to the eruption of violence at the annual celebratory event of Dalits on 1 January 2018. Although violence at the event was triggered by the interference of Hindu right-wing groups, the incident was used as a pretext to arrest Dalit scholars and other activists. Prof. Babu is the twelfth person to be arrested in relation to the case.As anti-caste scholars and activists, we understand that the framing of Prof. Hany Babu, a tireless anti-caste intellectual and activist, is an attempt to penalise Dalitbahujans for raising their voice against casteist practices. It is a tragic irony that the Indian Government is using a celebratory event of Dalits to frame anti-caste scholars and activists. Prof. Babu, who has consistently worked to ensure equal opportunity for Dalitbahujan students, views social justice as one of the main aims of scholarship. He also raised his voice to defend the rights of Prof. Sai Baba, a Delhi University Professor with 90% physical disability who was arrested on charges of having Maoist links in 2014. Prof. Babu’s commitment to social justice is penalised by his arrest. This is the latest example of the current Indian Government’s attempt to annihilate dissent and freedom of life for its vocal public. We are also disturbed by the arrest of India’s important intellectuals and activists during the time of the global pandemic. This situation causes great concern for Prof. Babu’s good health and safety in custody. It is with utmost dismay that we witness this onslaught on India’s public intellectuals who are committed to social justice like Prof. Hany Babu. We, the national and international community of anti-caste scholars and activists, urge the Indian Government to acquit Dr. Hany Babu, in the interest of preserving democratic values and human rights.Signed by the following:1. Lakshmanan, Dalit Intellectual Collective2. Gurpreet Singh, Indians Abroad for Pluralist India3. Jenny Rowena, Academic, Wife of Hany Babu4. NEVIL MP, University College of London, United Kingdom5. N. P. Pavithran, Father-in-Law of Hany Babu, Kerala6. Farzana, Daughter of Hany Babu7. Sudipto Mukhopadhyay, SCBC College, Murshidabad8. Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, Professor (Retired), Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand9. Priyamvada Gopal, University of Cambridge10. Dr Ajita Rao, Dalit Feminist, Delhi11. Prof Christian Haesemeyer, University of Melbourne12. Sandeep Bakshi, Assistant Professor, University of Paris13. Judith MISRAHI-BARAK, University Paul Valery Montpellier, France14. SATYANARAYANA K, Professor, EFL University, Hyderabad15. Malcolm McKinnon, Retired Professor, New Zealand16. Keith Reader, Visiting Emeritus Professor, University of London Institute in Paris17. Nicole Thiara, Nottingham Trent University18. Ali Rattansi, Visiting Professor, City University, London19. Luisa Steur, Assistant Professor, University of Amsterdam20. Meera Velayudhan, Policy Analyst21. Neil Rogall UCU, Lecturers Union, UK22. Prof. K. Satchidanandan, Indian Writers’ Forum23. PRADIP KUMAR DATTA, Professor (retired) JNU24. Nivedita Menon, Professor, JNU25. Lissa Lincoln American University of Paris26. Anamika Misra, Kent Law School27. Dr Julie Gosling – Making Waves Uk28. Satya P Mohanty, Professor, Cornell University29. Jayati Ghosh, Jawaharlal Nehru University30. David McNally, Distinguished Professor, University of Houston31. Esther Ramani, retired professor from Rhodes University32. Debjanee Ganguly/Calcutta University33. Nayanika Mathur, University of Oxford34. Philip J Gabriel, University of Arizona35. Uma Chakravarty, Retired Teacher36. Giovanna Gioli, Bath Spa University37. Janaki Nair Retd Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, JNU38. John G Walker, Retired, Ruskin College, Oxford39. Leila Essa, Trinity College Dublin40. Dyuti Chakravarty, PhD Researcher, University College Dublin41. Sruti Bala, Associate Professor Theatre Studies, University of Amsterdam42. Lotika Singha, University of Wolverhampton, UK43. K.Laxminarayana, University of Hyderabad44. David Mumford, Prof. Emeritus, Brown University45. Anjana Singh, University of Groningen, The Netherlands46. Camille Fauroux, Universite Federale, Toulouse47. Mary E John, Researcher, New Delhi48. Thirumal, Professor, University of Hyderabad49. Gertrude Lamare, London School of Economics and Political Science50. Dr Vikas Bajpai, Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University51. Nandini Chandra, Assistant Professor, University of Hawaii52. Sowmya Dechamma, Professor, University of Hyderabad53. Sandeep Mertia, New York University54. Rhys Jones, University of Liverpool55. Anupama Potluri, University of Hyderabad56. Layal Ftouni, Utrecht university, The Netherlands57. Mark Fleming, Assistant Professor, University of California, Berkeley58. Samseer Mambra, PhD student, National University of Singapore59. Dolores Herrero/University of Zaragoza, Spain60. Kavita Bhanot – University of Leicester61. Kriti Budhiraja, University of Minnesota62. Kalpana Wilson, Birkbeck, University of London63. Kim Fernandes, University of Pennsylvania64. Huma Dar, California65. Sritama Chatterjee, University of Pittsburgh66. Saheli Women’s Resource Centre67. Hugo Gorringe, Centre for South Asian Studies, University of Edinburgh68. Abhishek Venugopal, Student, Germany69. Aditi T, PhD candidate, Indiana University Bloomington70. Amogh Sharma, University of Oxford71. Brenda LeFrançois, Memorial Univeristy, Canada72. Dr Nicholas Harrigan/Macquarie University73. Prof. Jennifer Tuder, St. Cloud State University, USA74. Arun Ashokan, Researcher, ETH, Zurich75. Dickens Leonard, Independent Scholar, and former Adjunct, University of Hyderabad76. Bava Dharani, SOAS, London77. G Arunima, Professor, JNU78. Meena Kandasamy, Writer79. Lata Singh, JNU80. Chayanika Shah, LABIA – A Queer Feminist LBT Collective Mumbai81. Akanksha Mehta, Goldsmiths, University of London82. Rajkumar Hans, Retired Professor, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda83. Srikrishna Sekhar/University of Cape Town84. Sujai Kumar, University of Edinburgh85. Juan Luis Gastaldi, ETH Zurich86. Kaushal, Hasratein a queer collective87. Raza Griffiths, University of Kent, England88. Sheheen Kattiparambil, University of Leeds89. Devanshi Khetarpal, New York University90. E.V.Ramakrishnan, Author and academic91. Shalini Gera, Advocate, High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur92. Kartheek, Human Rights Forum93. Gerald G Netto, University of Eastern Finland94. Goldie Osuri, University of Warwick95. Tanweer Fazal, Professor, University of Hyderabad96. Sunandan K N, Azim Premji University97. Wardah, Aligarh Muslim University98. Riddhi Dastidar, Ambedkar University Delhi99. Shalini Sharma, Keele University100. Sourit Bhattacharya, University of Glasgow101. Divya Roa, Teaching Associate, University of Warwick102. Vasvi Oza, Artist103. Vidushi Kaushik, Dublin City University104. Jason Scott-Warren, University of Cambridge105. Baidehi Das, University of Hyderabad106. Papori Bora, Jawaharlal Nehru University107. Seema, MP Mahila Manch108. Shruti Iyer, Student, University of Oxford109. Gary Slack Jr., Cornell University110. M. Madhava Prasad, EFLU Hyderabad111. Jayasree Kalathil, Survivor Research, London, UK112. Amit Baishya, University of Oklahoma113. Jayan K Cherian/ Filmmaker114. Avishek Das, Student, UC Berkeley115. Shikha Jhingan, JNU116. Joby Joseph, University of Hyderabad117. Joel Van de Sande, PhD scholar, Columbia University118. Zoe Lawlor, University of Limerick, Ireland119. Shruti Mukherjee, SUNY Stony Brook120. Professor Vicki Coppock, Edge Hill University UK121. Tulika (independent filmmaker)122. Arundhathi Krishnan, University College Cork123. Nipesh Palat, University of Colombo124. Rakesh Sengupta, PhD student, SOAS125. Divya Cherian, Assistant Professor, Princeton University126. Beth Bhargava, University of Cambridge127. Debjani Dutta, University of Southern California128. Ishita Tiwary, Concordia university129. Freny Manecksha, Journalist130. Will Hall, Maastricht University, The Netherlands131. Mallika Khanna, Indiana University132. Bhaswati Bhattacharya/ Goettingen University133. Mythri Prasad, Graduate Center, City University of New York134. Vicky Kumar Saw, Pondicherry University135. Niyati Shenoy, PhD Candidate, Columbia University136. Dr. Arathi PM, Assistant professor, School of Indian Legal Thought, Mahatama Gandhi University137. Dr. M.M. Khan (formerly Associate Professor and Head, Dept of History, Govt: College for Women, Tvm. Kerala University)138. Debaditya Bhattacharya, Kazi Nazrul University139. Gautam Mody, New Trade Union Initiative140. Thanzeel Nazer, Graduate Student, University of Minnesota141. Sachin N, Assistant professor, University of Delhi142. Amulya Mandava, Harvard University143. Sujith koonan, Assistant professor, University of Delhi144. Hameeda C. K., Assistant Professor, Department of women’s studies, university of Calicut145. Ameet Parameswaran, Assistant Professor, JNU146. Dr MN Parasuraman, University College Thiruvananthapuram Kerala147. Muhsin Parari148. Debdatta Chowdhury, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences Calcutta149. Burhan Qureshi, Delhi University150. Anupriya Bose, previous MA student151. Ayesha Vemuri, McGill University152. Saidalavi PC, Australian National University153. Srividya Natarajan154. Akriti Mehta, King’s College London155. Shantanu Nevrekar/ PhD Student, Department of Anthropology, Stanford University156. CSR Shankar, University of Minnesota157. Kaustubh Naik, University of Pennsylvania158. Maansi Shah, Columbia University159. Muhammed Shah Shajahan, PhD, Virginia Tech160. Shalmali Jadhav, University of Michigan161. Shabnam Rathee; PhD candidate at Murdoch University162. Waseem. R. S., secretary fraternity movement163. Shivani Parikh, Center For Safety and Change164. Carol Manahan, California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA165. Praveen Kolluguri, International Network of Democratic Indians Abroad166. KALYANI MENON, Feminist Learning Partnerships167. Shikha Nehra, PhD Student, Stanford University168. Ramesh Bairy, IIT Bombay169. Iqbal Singh, Rtd Deshbandhu college170. Amitabh Trehan, loughborough University171. Lisa Thomas/ O P Jindal Global University172. Indhubala – PhD candidate, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi173. JANAKI ABRAHAM, Professor, Delhi University174. Ladeeda farzana175. Dr Aditya Sarkar, Warwick University176. Tapsi Mathur, Assistant Professor, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore177. Pragati Mohapatra, Delhi University178. Aameen Muhiyudheen, Darul Uloom nadwathul ulama, Lucknow179. Abhishodh Prakash, ICTS-TIFR180. Tushar Mesharam181. Ameen Hassan, Advocate182. Azfar Hussain, Azfar Hussain, Grand Valley State University, Michigan, USA183. Muhammed Shabeeb P, Jamia Millia Islamia184. Dev Desai, social activist, ANHAD185. Muhammad Vasil, Research scholar, University of Hyderabad186. Ajin K Thomas, Researcher, Ahmedabad187. Dr Ansar Aboobacker, President, Fraternity Movement188. Hritvika Lakhera, Miranda House189. Bhumika Saraswati, Independent Journalist190. Yedu kottakkal, freelance writer191. Ananthu, Research Student, University of Hyderabad192. Samson Gidla, Research Scholar, University of Hyderabad193. Amritha Mohan, Journalist194. Arun Mahanand, Ambedkarite Activist195. Khadeeja Amenda/ Research Associate196. Seena Panoli, Phd Scholar, University of Hyderabad197. Nitoo Das, Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi198. Prithviraj, Assistant Professor, Central University of Punjab199. Sujata Patel, Savitribai Phule Pune University200. Lakshmi Pradeep, Researcher, National University of Singapore201. Pallavi Rao, PhD student, Indiana University Bloomington202. SREERAG PARAYIL, Student, London203. Shinaj. P. S. PhD Student, University of Hyderabad204. Thongam Bipin, Imphal205. JASEEM, Journalist, Mediaone206. K S Sudeep, Assistant Professor, National Institute of Technology, Calicut207. Haritha R, University of Hyderabad208. Bivitha Easo, University of Hyderabad209. Sashanka Shekhar Das, University of Delhi210. Moushumi Basu, University of Delhi211. Sophia Abbas, PhD Scholar, Yale University212. Raju Nayak, EFLU, Hyderabad213. Manasi M S, University of Hyderabad214. Saravanan V, Jawaharlal Nehru University-New Delhi215. Mohan J Dutta, Massey University216. Indrapramit Das, Writer217. Korvi Vinayakala, Academician218. Ishanee Sarmah, University of Hyderabad219. Suruchi, BAPSA, JNU220. Saranya S, Research Scholar, University of Hyderabad221. Dr. Manju E P, Independent Researcher222. Murali Shanmugavelan, SOAS, University of London223. Debangana Baruah, TISS, Mumbai224. Satya Prakash, MA Student, Jamia Millia Islamia225. Jitendra Suna, Research Scholar, Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association, JNU, New Delhi226. Bindhulakshmi Pattadath, Associate Professor, TISS, Mumbai227. Muhammed Unais, queer activist228. Sunita Das, PhD Scholar, Assam University, Silchar229. Dr. N. Manohar Reddy, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad230. Aashique Iqbal/Assistant Professor, Krea University231. Siddhant, Student, NLU Delhi232. Aftab Illath233. Harish M Tharayil234. Muhsina Ashraf, IIT Indore235. Shamseer Ibrahim, Fraternity Movement236. Akhil S Nair, Research Scholar, IIT Indore237. Abdul Kabeer C, M.Phil Scholar – Sanskrit University Kalady238. Vivek Jadhav – Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali239. Kamalini Hegde,Research scholar, University of Hyderabad240. Clotilde Fauroux, Paris241. S. Durga Bhavani/ University of Hyderabad242. Asma/Fraternity Movement243. A.Suneetha, WTO JAC244. Saganipuram Venkateswaran, citizen245. Ekta Tomar, Student, National Law University-Delhi246. Udaya Kumar247. Zeeshan Husain/ Researcher248. Sanghamitra Misra, University of Delhi249. Sipra Mukherjee, West Bengal State University250. Sampan/Ashoka University251. Uthaman MK, Hyderabad.252. Dr.Muhammedaly P.P. Independent Researcher253. Harshin Kamal Asok, Asst. Prof., TIT Agartala254. Madhavi Menon, Ashoka University255. Mireille Ribiere, independent scholar256. Abhiti, Lawyer, Delhi257. Fathima Nizaruddin/ Filmmaker258. Gracious Temsen, UoH259. Chitra Panikkar, Bangalore University260. Violina Barman, South Asian University, Chanakyapuri261. Dr. Sonia Kaushal, Department of Anthropology, Dr Harisingh Gour University262. DK Amarseth, Pondicherry University, Puducherry263. Nikitha Phyllis, journalist at The Indian Express264. Saumya Srivastava, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi265. Dhiraj Saha, Central University of Gujarat266. Qian Xi Teng, activist267. Ratheesh P K, Jawaharlal Nehru University268. Bittu Kondaiah269. Maya Pramod Research Scholar270. Navaneetha Mokkil, JNU271. Santhosh S. Ambedkar University, Delhi272. Dr.O.K.Santhosh, Assistant professor, Department of Malayalam, University of Madras