Letter Of Solidarity For JNU From Members Of The IIT Madras Faculty

By Concerned Members Of The IIT Madras Faculty

24 February, 2016
Countercurrents.org

We, a group of people serving as faculty at IIT Madras, write to affirm our solidarity with the faculty and students of JNU and issue this statement in serious concern over recent events at JNU and in the national capital over the past week.

These events indicate the imposition of a narrow definition of nationalism by the state that excludes the possibility of dissent. A democracy is nothing without the ability to both question and disagree. Our university spaces have always fostered this space for debate and disagreement, and always in a fashion that encourages respectful co-existence through difference. As we view these spaces being criminalized and violently curbed, we are concerned that we are no longer able to foster spaces for open democracy. This atmosphere of stark binaries, needing declaration of loyalties is a dangerous and demoralizing one, and will not lead to a vibrant state or nation.

Our universities need to nurture critical thinking, as opposed to telling students and the polity how to think. Our nationalism is both contested, as well as open. Our willingness to critique must not be branded as either disloyalty or betrayal, and our understanding of state, nationalism, governance, and democracy must remain open to dialogue, dissent, and respectful debate, one that we argue will strengthen the nation. The nation cannot be one constantly threatened by any and all critique.

We stand with all those who share this vision.

[This statement is issued in our individual capacities, and does not necessarily represent the institution’s opinion.)

Tarun K. Chandrayadula Ocean Engineering
Enakshi Bhattacharya, Electrical Engineering
Binitha V Thampi, Humanities and Social Sciences
Mathangi Krishnamurthy, Humanities and Social Sciences
Sonika Gupta, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Kalpana Karunakaran, Humanities and Social Sciences
Dhiman Chatterjee, Mechanical Engineering
Sourav Rakshit, Mechanical Engineering
Suresh Govindarajan, Physics
Murali Krishnan, Civil Engineering
K.Srilata, Humanities and Social Sciences
Merin Simi Raj, Humanities and Social Sciences
Deepak Khemani, Computer Science and Engineering
Deleep R. Nair, Electrical Engineering
Nandita DasGupta, Electrical Engineering
Amitava DasGupta, Electrical Engineering
Nandan Sudarsanam, Management Studies
Sandipan Bandyopadhyay, Engineering Design
Hema A Murthy, Computer Science and Engineering
Milind Brahme, Humanities and Social Sciences
Shyama Prasad Das, Mechanical Engineering
Anil Prabhakar, Electrical Engineering
Roland Wittje, Humanities and Social Sciences
Sayan Gupta, Applied Mechanics
Joe Thomas Karackattu, Humanities and Social Sciences
K. Murali, Ocean Engineering
Solomon Benjamin, Humanities and Social Sciences
Sunetra Sarkar, Aerospace Engineering.
M Suresh Babu, Humanities and Social sciences
BS Murty, Civil Engineering
Ananth Krishnan, Electrical Engineering
Sudhir Chella Rajan, Humanities and Social Sciences
Devdas Menon, Civil Engineering
Arul Lakshminarayan, Physics
Tiju Thomas, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
Guhan Jayaraman, Biotechnology
Arun Menon, Civil Engineering
Anuradha Banerjee, Applied Mechanic
Chakravarthy Mathiazhagan, Electrical Engineering
R.Santhosh, Humanities and Social Sciences
Parag Ravindran, Mechanical Engineering
Arijit Dey, Mathematics
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