New Delhi: More than 400 signatories, including sociologists, political scientists, academicians, researchers, and journalists, have expressed outrage against at the manner in which discussions on the ongoing war against Palestine are being silenced on Indian campuses.“We are issuing this statement to call upon university administrators and the government to respect our academic freedom. We would also like to remind everyone of India’s own long history of anti-colonial struggle which has historically provided the lens through which the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, equality and human rights has been viewed in India,” they said in a statement.“We object to the way in which any discussion of the historical context of the occupation of Palestine and the barbaric Israeli assault on Gaza, along with the denial of food, fuel and water, since October 7, 2023, is being projected as support for the brutal terror attack on civilians in Israel by Hamas on October 7,” read the statement.“We object to the Israeli ambassador’s interference with academic freedom on Indian campuses. This disrespects the competence of Indian scholars to analyse historical and political situations for themselves. Defending the right to life and dignity of Palestinians, or pointing out the links between Zionism and Hindutva as supremacist ideologies, is not equivalent to antisemitism,” it said.This is in reference to former Delhi University professor Achin Vanaik’s recent lecture on Palestine at O.P. Jindal University. Although the university had asked Vanaik to “express regret” over his remark, the professor said he stands by his lecture.After Vanaik’s lecture on November 1, the Israeli Ambassador to India Naor Gilon, wrote to the founding vice-chancellor of the university, Prof. C. Raj Kumar, saying: “I cannot understand why an event delegitimizsng the State of Israel was hosted at the University.”The statement also strongly condemns the appropriation of the Palestine issue to fuel Islamophobia in India.“In all the attacks on campus events on Palestine, we see the Hindutva ecosystem at work – known Hindutva individuals who tweet against the faculty members concerned, groups which organise protests against them on campus, and a pliant media which engages in defamation of the academics as terror supporters,” it added.The statement urges the Indian government and political parties to cease criminalizing solidarity protests with Palestine, citing examples of FIRs against students and detentions in various cities.“Many opposition parties have failed to show sufficient solidarity with the people of Palestine and have thus betrayed the history ofIndia’s own freedom struggle,” it further said.It calls on university administrations to uphold their statutory and constitutional obligations, respecting the rights of faculty and students to organize talks and invite speakers without interference.§The full statement, with the names of the signatories, is reproduced below.Statement of Solidarity with Palestine and Condemnation of Attacks on Academic Freedom Related to PalestineAs academics and other concerned persons, we, the undersigned, are outraged at the manner in which discussions on the ongoing war against Palestine are being silenced on Indian campuses, and in the public sphere more broadly. We are issuing this statement to call upon university administrators and the government to respect our academic freedom. We would also like to remind everyone of India’s own long history of anti-colonial struggle which has historically provided the lens through which the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, equality and human rights has been viewed in India.We object to the way in which any discussion of the historical context of the occupation of Palestine and the barbaric Israeli assault on Gaza, along with the denial of food, fuel and water, since October 7th 2023, is being projected as support for the brutal terror attack on civilians in Israel by Hamas on October 7th.We object to the Israeli ambassador’s interference with academic freedom on Indian campuses. This disrespects the competence of Indian scholars to analyze historical and political situations for themselves. Defending the right to life and dignity of Palestinians, or pointing out the links between Zionism and Hindutva as supremacist ideologies, is not equivalent to antisemitism.We strongly condemn the hijacking of the Palestine issue to further Islamophobia within India. In all the attacks on campus events on Palestine, we see the Hindutva ecosystem at work – known Hindutva individuals who tweet against the faculty members concerned, groups which organize protests against them on campus, and a pliant media which engages in defamation of the academics as terror supporters.We demand that the Indian government, as well as all political parties in power in different states stop criminalizing protests in solidarity with Palestine. The FIRs filed against students of Aligarh Muslim University, and detentions of youth and students in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Coimbatore are examples of this. ManyOpposition parties have failed to show sufficient solidarity with the people of Palestine and have thus betrayed the history of India’s own freedom struggle.We call upon University administration to uphold their statutory and constitutional obligations and respect the intelligence, competence and integrity of their own faculty and students, and their right to organize talks and invite speakers as pedagogical interventions.SignatoriesNandini Sundar, sociologistNivedita Menon, political scientistRavi Sundaram, media scholarRajshree Chandra, political scientistRohan D’Souza, historianPamela Philipose, journalistMaya John, historianKaren Gabriel, English literatureAchin Vanaik, political scientistApoorvanand, Hindi literatureAyesha Kidwai, linguistAtul Sood, regional developmentAnita Rampal, educationistand 457 others…1 A. Wilson Baskar Educationist2 A.Mahaboob BatchaManaging Trustee — Justice BhagwatiFoundation3 Aabid Surti Author/Cartoonist/Water Warrior4 Aashish Gokhale Researcher5 Aashita Dawer Associate Professor6 Abdul Mabood Snehi7 Abdul Rahman Instrumentation engineer8 Abhijeet Yadav Student9 Abhinav Mishra Student10 Absar Hazarika Retired Civil Servant11 Adil Tyabji Freelance Publishing Editor12 Adwait Madkaikar Independent Researcher13 Afaque Azad Sound engineer14 Aflatoon Editor,Samayik Varta15 Ahammed Zayan Philosophy Research Scholar16 Aishe Ghosh President, JNU Students’ Union17 Aishwarya Kothare Research Student18 Ajay Parasram Political scientist19 Ajit Patil Social and Political activist20 Ajmala Psychology Research scholar21 Ajmer Chouhan Science Communicator22 Akash BhattacharyaIndependent Academic | Ex-Faculty Azim,Premji University.23 Akriti Assistant Professor24 Albeena Shakil Academic25 Ali Haidar Laskar Retd Principal26 Alia Zaman Political science27 Alok narah Student28 Aman Legal Academic/Lawyer29 Ambar Ahmad Academic30 Ambreen Agha Faculty, Jindal31 Ameet Parameswaran Assistant Professor32 Amir Rizvi Designer33 Amit Sengupta Journalist34 Amitabha Basu Retirwd scientist, CSIR-NPL, New Delhi35 Amitabha Chakrabarti Consultant cardio Thoracic surgeon36 Amitava Das Service37 Amritha Sruthi Research Scholar38 Anand K. Sahay Columnist39 Ananya Vajpeyi Scholar and Writer40 Anil Singh Journalist41 Animesh Das Indian Federation of Trade Unions42 Anirban FAN43 Anita Cherian Academic44 Antara Datta Associate Professor45 Antara Dev Sen Journalist46 Anuja Mital Ecologist47 Aparajita Datta Wildlife biologist48 AparnaPresident, Indian Federation of TradeUnions49 Aparna Sundar Political Scientist50 Apeksha Priyadarshini Ph.D Scholar, JNU51 Appandairaj Ananthakumar Student, JNU52 Apurbba Kumar BaruahTeaching Assam Institute of MassCommunication and Media Researchrch53 Ar Feroz Khan Architecture54 Arihant Kumar Maleri Association for Democratic Rights pb.55 Arjun Dasgupta Retired Executive56 Arkadip Mahapatra Crtical Care Technologist57 Arker creations Film maker/Digital creator58 Arman Hazarika Research Scholar59 Arul Singh Student60 Aruna Gnanadason Consultant61 Arunachalam Angappan Rtd62 Asad Abesi Business63 Asha Mishra All India People’s Science Network/BGVS64 Ashish Mital G.S. AIKMS65 Ashish Reddy Advocate66 Ashok Kumar Student, IIT Kanpur67 Ashok Kumar Pandey Author68 Ashwin Sreekumar Banking Professional69 Ashwin Thomas Student, St. Stephen’s College70 Ashwin Viswanathan Scientist71 Astha Chaudhary Research scholar72 Atif Ahmed Student73 Avinash Kumar Faculty, JNU74 Avishek Konar O.P. Jindal Global University75 Azra Caretaker76 B Rajasekhar Rahul Teacher77 Bhavna Sharma Social Activist78 Bhimrao Khetre Freelancer Artist79 Biplab AIPSN80 Brij Tankha Historian81 Brijesh V K Teacher, KSSP82 C P Chandrasekhar Former Professor JNU83 Carol UpadhyaVisiting Professor, National Institute ofAdvanced Studies, Bangalore84 Cedric PrakashHuman Rights Reconciliation and PeaceActivist/ Writer85 Chandni Mehta Jawaharlal Nehru University86 Charu Mishra Scientist87 Charu Singh Educator88 Chitra Harshvardhan Retired Professor from JNU, New Delhi89 Clifton D’ Rozario Lawyer90 Deepak Goswami AIPSN91 Deepti Bharti Social work92 Devathi Parashuram conservationist93 Devika Bordia Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence94 Dhiman Chatterjee Faculty IITM95 Dhruv Raina Historian and philosopher of science96 Dipendra Nath Chakraborty Retired97 Divya Mudappa Wildlife scientist98 Divyajyoti Ganguly Wildlife Biologist99 Dr Mira Shiva Public Health Physician100 Dr Rizwan Rafeequi Arabic Literature101 Dr SunilamEx MLA , KSS NAPM SKM , SamajwadiSamagam102 Dr Sushanta Kar Teaching103 Dr. G. RamachandramProfessor of Political Science and retiredPrincipal104 Dr. M. GeyanandState president Jana VignanaVedika,Andhra Pradesh105 Dr. Mihirlal Roy Science Activists, Bijnan Mancha – Tripura106 Dr. S. Anandha Krishna Raj International law107 Dr. S. Kanitha Retired Professor108 Dr. S. Vijaya Prabhu Assistant professor, NCT109 Dr. Salman Journalist110 Dr. Shikha Kapur Academic111 Dr. Soma Marla Principal scientist Genomics ICAR112 Dunu Roy Coordinator Hazards Centre113 Ekadh Ranganathan Wildlife Biologist114 Eric Pinto ANHAD Goa115 Faizan116 Fakhruddin Yusuf Bhai Jasupurawala117 Farah Naqvi Independent Writer and Activist118 Farai Divan Patel Ecologist119 Feroze Mithiborwala Freelance Writer120 Fiza Student121 Fozia Sodawala Writer122 Frazer Mascarenhas Sociologist123 Freny Manecksha Independent journalist124 G ArunimaHistorian, Kerala Council for HistoricalResearch125 G. Muralidhar JVV AP126 Gautam I Menon Professor127 Ghanshyam ShahIndependent Reasercher, formerlyprofessor JNU128 Githa Hariharan Writer129 Goldie Osuri University of Warwick130 Gopinathan A N Pensioner3131 Gopinathan VG KSSP/AIPSN activist132 Gowtham Raja Sathish Professor, Voorhees College133 Guruprasad Kar Indian Statistical Institute134 Habravysh PhD scholar, Jawaharlal Nehru University135 Harbans Mukhia Historian136 Hasina Khan Gender activist137 Henri Tiphagne Human Rights Defenders Alert _India138 Himanshu Jawaharlal Nehru University139 Hoimi Mukherjee Jawaharlal Nehru University140 Ilan Kapoor Professor, York University, Toronto141 Imrana Qadeer Public health professional142 Imtiaz Quadri Political Scientist143 Inamul Hasan Social Activist144 Indira Public Health academic145 Indranee Dutta Retired Professor146 Indu Chandrasekhar Publisher147 Ira Raja University of Delhi148 Ishita Chatterjee Academic149 Ishupal Faculty, JGLS150 Jai Singh Service151 Jaideep Ahuja Engineer152 James Masih Hotel Construction Management153 Janhavi Rajan Designer154 Jasjit Social worker155 Jayaprakash cherupally Social work156 Jayati Ghosh economic157 John Cherian Journalist158 John Dayal Writer159 John Scaria Student160 Jose PI Advocate161 Joseph Mathai social worker162 Joseph PV KSSP163 K P Sarma Teacher’s164 K. Sudhir Architect/PUCL165 K. Trimurtulu Science activist/RTD.librarian166 Kajri Jainart history/visual studies, University ofToronto167 Kalpana Kannabiran Sociologist168 Kamal Sarma Social activist169 Kamala Kempadoo sociologist170 Kamini Tankha Concerned Citizen171 Kanta Khurana Retd Associate Professor172 Karen Haydock retired TIFR/HBCSE173 Karthick Narayanan Linguist174 Karthik Teegalapalli175 Karuna DW Historian176 Kashish177 Kaveri Gill Political economist178 Kavita Srivastava Human Rights activist – PUCL179 Kedar Soni Educator180 Kishwer Retired Banker181 Komal Mohite Doctoral Candidate, McGill University182 Komal Saigal Individual183 Krishnakumr Retired professor184 Krittika ChakrabortyComparative Literature, University ofHyderabad185 Kumar Prashant Gandhian activist186 Kunal Kumar Doctoral Research Scholar187 Lara Jesani People’s Union for Civil Liberties188 Lata Singh Associate Professor, JNU189 Lipi Bag Research scholar190 Lotika Singha Writer191 Lovish Gautam Private Service192 M Madhava Prasad Retired Professor, EFL U193 M. Gauhar Iqbal India Palestine Friendship Forum194 M. V. Ramana Professor195 M.Radhamurugesan Tamilnadu science forum196 Madhu Sahni Literary academic197 Madhusmita Rawooth Product Manager in Healthcare (Dozee)198 Madhusudan Katti Professor199 Mahesh Gaur Administrative Officer200 Maimoona Abbas Mollah Women’s rights activist201 Malaika Mathew Chawla wildlife biologist202 Malavika Kasturi Historian203 Manali Chakrabarti Academic Independent204 Manisha Biswas Student, Jawaharlal Nehru University205 Manisha Hans Social Activist206 Manorama Sharma Historian207 Marcia DCunha Teacher208 Mary Advocate209 Mary E John women’s studies210 Maya Krishna Rao Theatre Artist211 Md. Ali Shariff The Lifeline Foundation212 Meena Dhanda Philosopher213 Meera Samson Research214 Meera SanghamitraNational Alliance of People’s Movements(NAPM)215 Meghna Roy anthropologist216 Minakshi Singh Activist217 Mini Mathew Lawyer218 Mira Sadgopal Medico Friend Circle219 Mohammed Alam Khan Business220 Mohammed Ali Private Service221 Mohan Dutta Professor of Communication222 Mohan Rao Public health223 Monika kshatriya Journalist224 Moushumi Basu Academic225 Mridupankhi Rajkumari PhD scholar, Jawaharlal Nehru University226 Mrigank Indian Federation of Trade Unions227 Mritiunjoy Mohanty Economist228 Muhammed Kuttiyatle Free lance artist229 Muneer Mukhdoomi Service230 Munnee Sen Content writer231 MuralidharanNational Platform for the Rights of theDisabled (NPRD)232 Mwajuma Alice Abok Human Resource Consultant233 N Sai Balaji Doctoral Student, JNU234 N. Mani Teaching235 N. Raghuram Biotechnologist236 N.K.Saraswathi Teacher237 Nabanita Samanta Doctoral Researcher, IIT Bombay238 Nadeem Khan India Palestine friendship forum239 Nageswar Y S JVV AP240 Naina Dayal Historian241 Naiyer Razzaqui Defence Pensioner242 Najibuddin Ahmed AIPSN, Assam ,Secretary243 Nalini NayakPGDAV College, Delhi University (RetdAssociate Professor)244 Naman Murliwar Student245 Namita Khare researcher246 Nancy Vaz Retired Teacher247 Nandini Velho Scientist248 Nandita NarainAssociate Prof( Retd), Dept ofMathematics, St Stephen’s College, DelhiUniversity249 Narender Nagarwal Professor University of Delhi250 Naveen Gaur University of Delhi251 Navsharan Singh252 Nazneen Activist253 Neeladri BhattacharyaProfessor (Rtd) Jawaharlal NehruUniversity254 Neelima Sharma Street theatre person255 Neeraj Malik University Professor256 Neerja Prasad Director administration257 Neha Student258 Neha Student259 Nidal Abuzuluf Director, JAI260 Nikita Climate Action Consultant261 Nirangkush Nath Political Activist262 Niyati Student263 Noor Enayat Publicist264 Noorjahan Abdul Hamid diwan Activities265 Nupur Asher Research Scholar266 Oishik Sircar legal scholar267 P A Azeez Freelance Academic268 P Jeganathan Wildlife Biologist269 Padma Kondiparthi Advocate270 Padmini Smetacek Editor271 Pamela Philipose Journalist272 Pariplab Chakraborty Visual artist and journalist273 Parnal Chirmuley German Studies274 Partho Sarothi Ray Molecular biologist275 Parvathy Rajendran Freelance Editor276 Parveez Asghar Retired277 ParwatiHousewife / Haryana Gyan Vigyan Samiti ,Hisar278 Peggy Mohan Linguist279 Pia Sethi Conservation biologist280 Ponniah Rajamanickam All India People Science Network281 Poorvi Gupta Journalist282 Prabhu Mohapatra Historian283 Pradip Kumar Datta Retired Professor284 Pramod Ranjn Journalist285 Pranjali BandhuResearcher, South Asia Study Centre,Nilgiris286 Prateek Vijayavargia Research Scholar, JNU287 Pratiksha Baxi Sociologist288 Praveen Arora Media289 Praveen Jha Professor290 Preethi Krishnan Sociologist291 Priya Dharshini Delhi forum292 Priyamvada Iyer Business293 Priyanka Prakash NCF294 Qim Ahmed Designer295 R Nagesh Retired LIC Employee296 R. S. Vikal297 R. Vivekaanandhan College Professor (RTD.)298 Radha Kumar Writer and policy analyst299 Radhika Singha Retired300 Raghavendra Prasad President, IFTU301 Rahul Roy Indian Statistical Institute302 Rahul Varman Academic303 Rajamathangi S Linguist304 Rajarshi Dasgupta Political scientist305 Rajat Kumar SonkarPhD Candidate, Department of Sociology,University of Delhi306 Rajeev Singha Doctor307 Rajender Kumar Theatre activiest308 Rajni Palriwala Professor of Socioloy309 Raju K Retired Professor310 Rakesh Theatre activist311 Ramakrishnan C Educationist312 Ramani Atkuri Independent Public Health Physician313 Ramanujam Ragavan Retired govt servant314 Ramesh Chander Retired officer315 Ramesh ChanderRetired Principal / Haryana Gyan VigyanSamiti316 Ramesh DixitAcademician , Professor in Politicalscience (retired) Lucknow University.317 Ramneek Singh Playwright, Theatre Director, Teacher318 Rana Student319 Ranjani Mazumdar Cinema Studies320 Rashmi Gera321 Rashmi Pant Assoc. Prof. Retd.322 Ratheesan T M Comon Service centre323 Ravi DuggalIndependent Sociologist and Public HealthResearcher324 Ravi Srivastava Research325 Ravinder Banyal Scientist326 Raynah Marise ICWM327 Raza KazmiConservationist, Researcher, WildlifeHistorian, Writer328 Razia Quresh Bootwala Home maker329 Reshma PhD Physics, University of Hyderabad330 Richa Minocha Academic331 Rita Manchanda Peace & Conflict studies332 Ritu Ngapnon Farmer, Architect333 Rohan D’Souza Professor, ASAFAS, Kyoto University334 Rohini Muthuswami Professor335 Rohit Azad Economist336 Rohit Kumar Student337 Rohith P English Literature338 Ronak M Soni Physicist, University of Cambridge339 Roop Rekha Verma Social activist340 Rukaiya Joshi Professor341 Runa Sarkar IIM Calcutta342 Rupa Mehta Media Professional and Social Activist343 Ruth Manorama Social work Professional344 Rutuja Dhamale Science Educator345 S .Mohana AIPSN EC member, Social Activist346 S Viswanathan Watcher347 S. G Dani Mathematician348 S. Usha Professor349 S.KrishnaswamyRetired Senior Professor ex MaduraiKamaraj University350 Sabiha Shariff Retired351 Sachidanand Sinha Professor Retd352 Sachin Bhusari Citizen353 Sachin N Dyal Singh College, University of Delhi354 Sadiq Zafar Architect, Urban Policy Researcher355 Saeed Ahmad Historian356 Sahildeep Singh Student/Research Scholar357 Sailen Bhattacharyya Social Worker358 Samarth M Dahiwale359 Samik DasguptaAssistant Professor, Ananda ChandraCollege, University of North Bengal360 Samuel Asir Raj Professor361 Sandhya Srinivasan Indian Journal of Medical Ethics362 Sangeeta Social Activist, HGVS363 Sangeetha K Assistant Professor/ A M Jain College364 Sangita Das Associate Professor365 Sanjaya Gupta Banker and independent consultant366 Sanjit Chatterjee IISc367 Sankari Rajappon CPI(M)368 Sarah Actor369 Saraswathi PUCL370 Saravanan V Ph.D Candidate, JNU371 Satbir Nagal Science Activists372 Satish Deshpande Sociologist373 Satish Kumar Singh Senior Advisor374 Satish Suryan Journalist375 Satyajit Freelance editor376 Sedef Arat-KocPolitics professor / Toronto MetropolitanUniversity377 Seema Mustafa Journalist378 Sehar Kidwai Production designer379 Selvyn Jussy Linguist380 Shabnam Hashmi Social Activist381 Shafeef Ahmed Phd student382 Shafeeq Mahajir Lawyer383 Shalini D Student of History384 Shalini Dhawan Designer385 Shamsul Islam Former faculty Delhi University386 Shanti Paswan Scatory jansandesh ngo387 Sharoz Reza Founder EHSAS Foundation388 Shaukat Abdul Karim Dangare Business man389 Shikhar Goel New York University390 Shilpita Mandal Researcher391 Shohini Sengupta PhD candidate, UNSW, Sydney392 Shreekant Gupta University of Delhi393 Shubhra Gururani, Anthropologist Director, York Centre for Asian Research394 Shukla Sawant Artist and academic395 Shyama Iyer IIT Bombay396 Siddan Chandra Media Producer397 Simin Akhter University of Delhi398 SK Malik Retired Engineer399 Soma Chatterjee Associate Professor, York University400 Sonal K S Master’s Student, Political Science, NEHU.401 Srinivasan Ramani Senior journalist402 Sruti BalaAssociate Professor University ofAmsterdam403 Stella Environmental law404 Sucharita Sen Jawaharlal Nehru University405 Suchisree Chatterjee PhD student, IIT Bombay406 Suchitra Mathur English Literature407 Sudha Bharadwaj Lawyer408 Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan409 Sukla Sen Life Fellow, Indian Social Science Academy410 Sukumar Muralidharan Columnist and journalism educator411 Suman Kalyan Pradhanadhyapak i Salaried412 Sundarapandi Retired professor.413 Surajit Mazumdar Jawaharlal Nehru University414 Surajit Pal Corporate Job415 Suranya Aiyar Housewife416 Suresh417 Suresh Kumar Health Activist418 Surya Abhishek Singaraju Physicist419 Sushmita Political Scientist420 Suvrat Raju Physicist421 Swatija Forum Against Oppression of Women422 Syed Ghouse Mohiuddin Quadri Exserviceman and Human Rights Activist423 T V Narasimha Rao Teacher424 Tamojit Roy Assistant Professor, CoochBehar College425 Tani Bhargava Social work426 Tanweer Fazal sociologist427 Tarun Sagar Research Analyst/Social Worker428 Thamizh Nazar Research scholar429 Thomas Mathew Research scholar, University of Delhi430 Tirthaprasad K Teacher431 Tonmoy Media professional432 Udaya Kumar Literary studies433 Ugandhar Babu Lic, Janavignana Vedika434 Umesh Chandola Veterinary doctor435 Ushi Kak Writer, Academic436 Utpola Das Student437 Uttam Artist438 V P Nandakumar Science activist439 V Ponnuraj Retired college professor440 V.S. Krishna Human Rights Forum441 Vaidyanathan R Researcher442 Vanessa Chishti Associate Professor, Jindal Law School443 Vasudha Researcher444 Venkatesh Athreya Economist445 Vidya Das Arora Retired academic446 Vijay Karthick PhD student447 Vikas Bajpai Jawaharlal Nehru University448 Vikas Rawal Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University449 Vinay BrandonPhd Scholar, Department of Sociology,Delhi School of Economics, University ofDelhi450 Vineet TiwariNational Secretary, All India ProgressiveWriters’ Association451 Virginia Saldanha Woman Activist452 Waseemsha Doctor453 Wasi Kidwai Student454 Yousuf Saeed Independent filmmaker455 Zahra Vahanvaty Non-profit456 Zeeshan Khan457 Zoya Hasan Political Scientist
