Gar ho Sake to Ab Koi Shamma Jalaiye Is Daur-e-Siyasat ka Andhera Mitaiye

Friends and Comrades, from Democratic Students Union (DSU), we convey our revolutionary greetings to all of you for your fearless solidarity in the last few days against the attack on the students of our campus and the institutional autonomy of the university by the State after the 9th February programme organised by some students of JNU. The students of this campus have come out unitedly against the arrest of JNUSU president and malicious witch hunting of the organisers of the programme and other students of JNU based on false charges. We condemn the consorted conspiracy viciously led by ABVP, JNU administration, the police and a section of media on all the activists in the strongest possible words.

This is a time of rising fascism, when repressive state apparatus, right wing hooligans from RSS to ABVP, the university administration and the media are trying to criminalise student politics, crush democratic voices of dissent and attack progressive individuals who support people’s democratic movements and aspirations within and outside the country. And anyone who disagrees with the propaganda of right wing forces and their idea of one nation are branded as “anti-nationals”. Anyone who speaks against the anti-people policies of the Indian State, neo-liberal policies, corporate loot and plunder of indigenous resources and the atrocities perpetrated by the State on the most downtrodden sections of society are labelled as Maoists and “biggest internal security threats”. Anyone who raised her/ his voice against the incarceration and institutional murders and rapes of Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims and other oppressed sections are tagged as terrorists and “desh ke gaddar”. Anyone who questions the racial discrimination and violence meted out to the people of North East or speak in solidarity with the democratic political aspirations for right to self-determination of the people of these States and Kashmir are targeted by the cannibal “collective conscience” propagated by the ruling classes.

We must not forget that the crackdown which we are facing in JNU is in no way separate from the repression and incarceration faced by the oppressed people of this country on an everyday basis. Neither should we forget that we cannot escape this psychological warfare and reign of terror by restraining ourselves from speaking the truth out aloud. Today, we must stand united with the ongoing struggles in all campuses from IIT Madras to FTII, HCU to JNU. Our united struggle for right to dissent cannot be isolated from the struggle for justice for Rohith and against institutional murder of Dalits, Brahmanism in Education and targeting of minority students.

We may have political differences with each other, but in the face of fascism, if we start condemning fellow student activists in the fear of repression, then we are readily conceding to the states’ attempt to break our unity. Now, a draconian and colonial law is being invoked by the Brahmanical Indian State to charge students with sedition for sloganeering. We may not agree with all sorts of slogans, but we must not forget the historical injustice perpetrated on the people of Kashmir and their democratic aspirations by the Indian State for more than sixty years. The charge of sedition levelled against our fellow students is nothing but a sham that puts the entire judiciary under trial.

Today, Brahmanical Hindutva Fascism in the garb of jingoistic nationalism is amassing the rural and urban unemployed youth in large numbers while simultaneously expediting the imperialist loot and plunder of people’s resources aided by the State and big corporates, bolstering its anti-people policies and pulling up the farce of “Make in India”. This State is trying to divert the attention of the people from its economic crisis by violently propagating Hindutva Nationalism. This nationalism is nothing but a conceited face of fascism. By enforcing unquestioning obedience to the Sangh’s notion of Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan, the Indian State is trying to create wedges between dalits, adivasis, muslims, women and other oppressed minorities because this state is fearful of our unity.

DSU strongly demands the immediate and unconditional revocation of the academic debarment of student activists and organisers of the 9th February programme. We appeal to the student community to raise the demand of scrapping the ongoing enquiry. We must remember that even before the enquiry started students were suspended from academic activities. Let us not be in the false hope of a “fair and just” trial because this enquiry is intrinsically linked with the ridiculous charges of sedition against some of the students. The JNU Vice Chancellor must ensure that students are not individually hounded by the administration and police. The VC must take a stand against the police intervention in the democratic space of our campus and repeal all charges against each and every student. We demand the resignation of JNU Registrar, Bupinder Zutschi, who has been acting according to the diktats of the Sangh by providing the police with personal details of students. At the same time, the JNU administration is complicit in the vicious profiling and witch hunting of the organisers in the media and by police.

We condemn the media trial of Umar Khalid, now in police custody along with Anirban Bhattacharya, which took no time to brand him as a “terrorist mastermind” because he comes from a minority community. Moreover, how can we expect justice from this judiciary, when Kanhaiya Kumar, the JNUSU president along with teachers and journalists were attacked at the supposed altar of justice, the court? The assailants of Hindu Rashtra are in a frenzy to turn our universities into factories and students into unthinking machines while the judiciary has become a mute spectator to the tragi-comedy of “Indian democracy” unfolding on the streets and in media. Amidst all of this, lies conveniently buried the sedition case slapped against Prof. SAR Geelani from Delhi University who was arrested by the Delhi Police for merely organising a meeting against the killing of Afzal Guru on 10th February.

DSU condemns the attack by right wing forces on JNUSU president, Kanhaiya Kumar, JNU teachers and journalists in the Patiala House Court where ironically lawyers who are supposed to uphold judiciary abused and physically harassed them. Instead of protecting the unarmed students and teachers, the police acted as the hired goons of the State. We condemn the intervention of Delhi police and demand that police forces are immediately removed from university campus. We appeal to the progressive sections inside and outside campus to stand in solidarity and demand the release of Kanhaiya Kumar, Anirban Bhattacharya and Umar Khalid who are in police custody under false charges and all the students and activists persecuted by mob hysteria based on the rumours and lies spread by ABVP. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Prof. SAR Geelani. We condemn the witch hunting of Muslim and Kashmiri students inside an outside the campus. We also reject the profiling of DSU in the Parliament and media based on the false claims of ABVP lumpens. This is a time for us to stand united against fascism and fight together for justice, our right to dissent and finally to build a truly democratic society.

Let us resolve to fight together for an equal world free from all oppression!

Scrap Enquiry! Revoke charges of sedition against Students!

Release Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya immediately and unconditionally!

Release Prof SAR Geelani immediately and unconditionally!

Stop selective witch hunt of students!