Skip to main content

Govt of India using Covid-19 to crush dissent: IIM-B 'concerned members' protest

Safoora Zargar
By A Representative
In a solidarity statement, “concerned members” of the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) have said that the Central government has used the Covid-19 pandemic “as a cover to crush all forms of dissent that are central to a healthy democracy.”
Taking strong exception to the recent arrests of scores of student activists who had mobilised against what they have called “the patently discriminatory CAA-NPR-NRC, including a pregnant woman, Safoora Zargar”, the statement says, this is “meant to further intimidate not only India’s 200 million Muslim citizens but all those who question government’s actions.”
“While the government has gone about arresting student activists under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the real perpetrators that incited violence in Delhi, including a union minister, have not been charged”, the statement says.
“Even as the pandemic rages in crowded prisons, the government has refused to heed to multiple appeals to release these students as well as senior citizens including Prof Anand Teltumbde, Sudha Bharadwaj and others”, the statement notes, demanding that the government should “immediately release all political prisoners.”
The statement calls upon “fellow academics everywhere in India to stand up in solidarity and hold the government to account”, adding, “Along with the economy, India’s democracy needs to be unlocked, too.”
While giving the names of those who have signed the statement, it says, “We have withheld last names and used initials to protect the signatories.”

Comments

Post a Comment

NOTE: Hateful, abusive comments won't be published. -- Editor

TRENDING

The farmer's burden: How oil, war, and climate are rewriting the price of food

By Vikas Meshram   The scorching flames of the Middle East conflict are now slowly reaching the kitchens of ordinary people. The true price of this war is paid in daily markets, vegetable shops, and in the shattered minds of farmers. Expensive crude oil, skyrocketing fertilizer prices, and rising agricultural costs are together creating the conditions for global food inflation — and this crisis is directly tied to what people eat and drink every day.
Post a Comment
»

Economic nationalism under strain as Indian corporates turn to America

By Sandeep Pandey*  U.S. federal prosecutors withdrew a criminal case involving allegations that Gautam Adani had bribed officials in India to secure solar energy projects, stating that they lacked sufficient evidence. Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani also settled a civil fraud case with the Securities and Exchange Commission by paying a fine of around ₹180 crore without admitting wrongdoing. In addition, Adani Enterprises reportedly deposited around ₹2,750 crore into the U.S. Treasury to resolve allegations that it had violated U.S. sanctions on Iran through purchases of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). 
Post a Comment
»

India’s heatwave crisis: How concrete cities are fueling climate emergency

By Rajkumar Sinha*  According to recent studies, urban areas are witnessing a much sharper rise in temperatures than rural regions. The planet is currently heading toward an additional 1.9°C of warming — far beyond the target envisioned under the Paris Agreement . A team of climate scientists associated with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has noted that India’s average temperature increased by nearly 0.9°C during the decade between 2015 and 2024 compared to the early twentieth century (1901–1930). In western and northeastern India, the hottest day of the year has already become 1.5°C to 2°C warmer since the 1950s.
Post a Comment
»