Dr. Anand Teltumbde, an engineer and Senior Professor at the Goa Institute of Management was arrested on February 2 for expressing oppositional views of the current government. This could jeopardize his scholarship. CCS has written the Prime Minister requesting that they reconsider his legal situation, dismiss his charges and release him.
Narendra Modi
Prime Minister
Prime Minister’s Office
South Block, Raisina Hill, New Delhi-110011
Fax: 01123017475
Email: connect@mygov.nic.in
Dear Prime Minister Modi:
The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.
We write to express our grave concern for Dr. Anand Teltumbde, an engineer, prominent scholar, and well-known intellectual who is currently a senior professor at the Goa Institute of Management. He was arrested on February 2 and appears to be facing serious legal jeopardy for his scholarship and for his opposition to policies of the current government.
We join with hundreds of Indian and international scholars in calling for the dropping of these charges and ending this ongoing persecution against India’s respected public intellectuals.
We support the rights of our colleagues to freely pursue their important academic work, and to peacefully speak out and organize in any way they see fit. Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which India has signed and ratified, these activities constitute protected free expression and association. These are fundamental rights are commitments that your government has made to its citizens.
We also condemn targeting Dalit scholars, like Dr. Teltumbde, which violates India’s commitments, under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which India ratified in 1968.
As an emerging leader in the global academic and scientific world, it is critical that the government of India respect academic freedom and free expression, and work to end, racial and ethnic discrimination,
Thank you for your attention to this serious matter, and we look forward to receiving your response.
Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists
cc:
Ambassador Harsh Vardhan Shringla
Embassy of India
2107 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington DC 20008
Phone: 202 939 7000 | Fax: 202 265 4351
Email: amb.washington@mea.gov.in
Contact Form: https://goo.gl/wvDC5i
