Academicians, scholars and several others signed a petition, which now has about 470 signatories, with regard to academic freedom in Indian universities when it comes to discussions around Palestine. This was done via the portal www.kafila.online.
The statement with signatures was issued to call upon university administrators and the government to respect their academic freedom. Further, it expressed:
- Objection to how 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.
- Objection to Israeli ambassador’s interference with academic freedom on Indian campuses.
- Condemned the hijacking of the Palestine issue to further Islamophobia within India
With this statement, it has demanded 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."
