We are shocked and horrified to learn of the terrible attack on the Jawaharlal Nehru University on the evening on 5 January 202, by a group of armed goons who targeted a peaceful gathering of teachers and students. We note that this terrible event comes in the wake of a prolonged struggle by the students against a fee hike that would force nearly half of them to abandon their studies, and after an even longer series of protests by the faculty and students of JNU against the many arbitrary and illegal actions of the JNU Vice Chancellor over nearly three years. We are extremely concerned at the apparent failure of the Delhi Police (which is directly under the Home Ministry) to identify the perpetrators despite much photographic and video evidence, to register the complaints made by faculty and students about the attack, and the malicious attempt to pin the blame for the attack on some of the victims.
It is clear to us that a Vice Chancellor who exposes his faculty and students to such terror and who is guilty of many other actions undermining the academic and other functioning of the University, cannot remain in office. As academics from universities across the world, we join those who demand that the JNU Vice Chancellor should be removes forthwith, as he has lost all national and international legitimacy.
Signatories:
1. Alicia Puyana, Flacso, Mexico2. Andres Lazzarini, Goldsmiths College, London3. Andrew Cornford, Counsellor, Geneva Finance Observatory Andrew Cornford, Geneva Finance Observatory, Switzerland4. Anya Stiglitz, Columbia University, New York5. Barkin Asal, formerly Istanbul University, Turkey6. Ben Fine, SOAS, University of London, UK7. Burak Gurel, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey8. C. W. M Naastepad, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands9. Caroline S. Hossein, York University, UK10. Cecilia Lopez, CoSOE, Bogota, Colombia11. Christopher Baker, Bangkok, Thailand12. Danai Mupotsa, University of Witswatersrand, South Africa13. Diana Strassman, Rice University, USA14. Edward Fulbrook, University of the West of England, UK15. Erhan Kelesoglu, Istanbul University, Turkey16. Erinc Telgan, Bilkent University, Turkey17. Fikret Baskaya, Free University, Ankara, Turkey18. Francesca Bettio, University of Siena, Italy19. Galip Yalman, Middle Eastern Technical University, Ankara, Turkey20. Gerald Epstein, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA21. Giovanni Andrea Cornia, University of Florence, Italy22. Gokce Cihan, Istanbul University23. Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven, University of York, UK24. Isil Cakan Haciibrahimoglu, Istanbul University25. Jane Humphries, University of Oxford, UK26. Jose Antonio Ocampo, Columbia University, New York27. Juan Carlos Moreno Brid, UNAM, Mexico City28. K. Velupillai, Formerly University of Trento, Italy29. Korkut Boratav, Istanbul University, Turkey30. Kurtar Tanyilmaz, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey31. Levent Dolek, formerly Istanbul University, Turkey32. M. A. Savage, LSE, London, UK33. Marcella Corsi, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy34. Marga Olivera, Universidad federal de Rio de Janeiro, Brazil35. Mariana Mazzucato, University College London, UK36. Marjorie Griffin Cohen, Simon Fraser University, Canada37. Martha Nussbaum, University of Chicago, USA38. Mehmet Bona, Istanbul University39. Mehmet Cemil Ozansu, formerly Istanbul University, Turkey40. Melda Yaman Ozturk, formerly Samsun 19 Mayis University, Turkey41. Mert Ertan, Istanbul University42. Mustafa Kemal Coskun, formerly Ankara University, Turkey43. Myra Stober, Stanford University, USA44. Nalini Burn, Mauritius45. Nilgun Ongan, Istanbul University, Turkey46. Nobuharu Yokokawa, Musashi University, Tokyo47. Noemi Levy, UNAM, Mexico City48. Ozgur Ozturk, formerly Samsun 19 Mayis University, Turkey49. Pasuk Phongpaichit, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand50. Rainer Kattel, University College London, UK51. Richard Jude Rowden, American University, Washington DC, USA52. Robert Pollin, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA53. Robert Wade, LSE, London, UK54. Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, New School University, New York55. Savaş Karabulut, Istanbul University, Turkey56. Sevtap Metin, Istanbul University57. Servaas Storm, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands58. Siobhan Austen, Curtin University, Australia59. Sungur Savran, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey60. T. Hakan Ongan, Professor, formerly of Istanbul University, Turkey61. Vivianne Ventura-Dias, Santiago, Chile62. Walden Bello, Manila Philippines63. Zulkuf Aydin, Middle Eastern Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
