BENGALURU: "It is vital that we ensure and maintain the momentum that the student community across in India has achieved so far, and continue to lift each other's voices," said select alumni, faculty and research scholars of the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) who gathered here in Bengaluru to express solidarity with the protesters of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The academic fraternity extended their support to all those who have been protesting against the unconstitutional NRC and the CAA. They strongly condemned police brutality against the students of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University, as well as the atrocities being committed against protestors across Assam.
"Over the last few days, the country has been a witness to numerous inhumane acts and strategies employed to curb the voices of democratic dissent. The state has deployed brutal force and propaganda by entering and attacking the safe spaces of students, such as university buildings, libraries, and engaging in violent acts by using tear-gas shells and lathis. This has resulted in an eruption of the student community coming together from across the length and breadth of this country against the atrocities committed by the police and Central government – be it through protesting, sloganeering, or singing songs of protest," said NIAS representatives in a statement.
Terming the laws, unconstitutional at many levels, the fraternity also said, "The CAA, combined with NRC, has the potential to cause injustice through harassment of diverse minorities (Muslims, indigenous, and queer communities to name a few)."
"Nor does its framing as providing citizenship to religiously persecuted people hold up as it leaves out several others facing similar persecutions in countries neighbouring to India," the statement further added.