As we mark India's Republic Day, join us for a protest against the CAA, the NRC, and the NPR - these are BJP-led initatives that seek to defy India's constitutional ethos. There will be music, poetry, speeches, food, and you will be demonstrating solidarity with fellow students - a great way to find meaning on Sunday of Week 1, Hilary Term!

On Wednesday 22 January, we will be proposing a motion at OUSU Council on this very topic. Please do read the details below!

Motion: Solidarity Statement - Condemn Violence Against Indian Student Protesters

1. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia University, and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) are three of India’s leading universities, each with well-established links to the University of Oxford.
2. The students of these universities, other institutions, and members of the wider public have been protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in India.
3. The CAA stipulates preferential treatment to persecuted religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the process of acquiring Indian citizenship, while explicitly excluding Muslims from its purview.
4. This exclusion of Muslims upends the long-standing fundamental ideals of equality, liberty, pluralism, and secularism enshrined in the Constitution of India.
5. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has noted that the CAA is “fundamentally discriminatory in nature”.
6. The NRC would ask individuals to provide documentation to prove their citizenship according to set terms. Many Indians may not have the documentation requested despite having lived in India for generations. Those unable to prove their citizenship will have recourse to the CAA. Indian Muslims, however, will not. Indian Muslims, therefore, could be made stateless.
7. Meanwhile, detention camps have been made and are being built; these will house those that do not meet the requirements of the NRC.
8. Those protesting peacefully against these initiatives have been met with draconian measures, arrests, alleged state-sanctioned police brutality, and mob violence within their campuses and on the streets. Examples include: physical assault on Aishe Ghosh, the President of the JNU Students Union, and sexual assault on minors in Uttar Pradesh. Some protestors have died as a consequence of being subject to violence.
9. In an attempt to prevent mobilisation of protesters, the government has responded by shutting down internet services and social media in places where protests have been intense.
10. Kashmir has also been under a complete internet and partial-communication blockade for over five months, causing innumerable suffering to the people, especially the students. For the most part, schools and colleges in Kashmir have remained shut.
11. With no access to the internet, students in Kashmir are unable to apply for admissions, scholarships, examinations, and jobs. At the same time, Kashmiri students outside Kashmir are unable to freely contact their families back home, while also facing hostilities from fringe elements in India.
12. A number of students with ties to the institutions mentioned are currently studying at or have studied at the University of Oxford, and, therefore, are adversely affected by the points noted above.

What We Believe:

1. The use of police force against students exercising their right to protest in university spaces and elsewhere is a direct attack on their democratic rights.
2. There should be an immediate end to all forms of violence against the protesting students and those responsible should be held accountable.
3. Internet and other communication services should be restored in Kashmir and elsewhere immediately and students should be provided with an effective support system to cope with academic and other opportunity losses.
4. OUSU should join the UCU, NUS, and other student societies around the UK in offering solidarity to those students in India who are protesting against the matters that are noted in this motion.

That's #WhyWeProtest. See you on Sunday!