Statement in solidarity with IITK students who peacefully marched on 17th December

We stand in complete solidarity with the students of IIT Kanpur who marched on 17th December against the police violence inflicted upon protesting students of AMU, JMI and other universities against CAA and NRC.

According to the student organisers, they took admin permission for the march on the previous day itself but when they reached the assembly point, they were told by the admin that they would not be allowed to march because of imposition of 144 in Kanpur. Around 300 people, students and faculty, gathered to march. There were 5-10 people, students and faculty, who were opposing the march. When the students demanded a written office order they were shown a three weeks old office order. They also found that the clauses laid down by the order did not apply to them. They therefore decided to proceed with the march, which was concluded peacefully and without any untoward incidents. A statement of solidarity was released after the march.

Before the start of the march, Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s famous Hum Dekhenge was read out, which has become a controversy now. People who opposed the march later complained to the Director about that poem. An article titled ‘When All Idols Will Be Removed…Only Allah’s Name Will Remain’: Jamia Solidarity Event At IIT Kanpur Sparks Row appeared in Swarajya magazine on 21st December. The article detailed the contents of the complaint and argued that the march was communal. On the same day, the students’ magazine, Vox Populi, carried a response to the article in Swarajya magazine. This article explained the sequence of the events of 17th December and explained how the poem has to be understood within its context and how the Swarajya article is an attempt to communalise the gathering.

After the article from Vox, on the same day within hours, there was a tweet from the institute Director saying that no permission was granted to the march and a high level committee had been constituted to investigate and take disciplinary action.

The complaint and the response from the Director would have, understandably, created a lot of pressure on students to withdraw the Students’ Gymkhana statement and the Vox article.

We feel that the threat of high-level committee and disciplinary action is a clear attempt to stifle the voice of the students of IIT Kanpur. As citizens of this country, the students have every right to peacefully express their opinions on any subject.

At this moment we feel that it is our duty to express our solidarity with the students of IIT Kanpur who are being threatened for expressing their opinions and for standing in solidarity with their fellow students from other universities.

We, the undersigned, believe that the IITK administration should encourage dialogue and abandon the idea of any disciplinary action which amounts to intimidation of students.

Signatories

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