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Indian Sociology Student has her Registration Cancelled Under Suspicious Circumstances

September 15, 2022

Safoora Zargar’s registration as a sociology graduate student at the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) university in New Delhi has been canceled. The Committee is concerned by the appearance of retaliation against her over her activism against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019, which she saw as discriminatory against Muslims.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20220901105039423

September 15, 2022

Droupadi Murmu
President of the Republic of India
Rashtrapati Bhavan,
New Delhi, 110004
Republic of India
Phone: 91 11 2301 5321
@PresidentOfIndia

Dear President Murmu:

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 are writing in regard to Safoora Zargar, a now former sociology graduate student at the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University in New Delhi. Her registration as a student was canceled last month, supposedly for not being able to complete her dissertation within five semesters. This termination has happened despite the fact that she had to contend with COVID-19 as well as being pregnant, being in police detention, and being mired in legal matters over her activism in 2020.

The Committee is concerned by the appearance of retaliation against her over her activism against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019, which she saw as discriminatory against Muslims. This sort of retaliation appears to be a recurring pattern of suppressing students and faculty who protest against this law.

We write to urge your government to reinvestigate her claims that she had not been granted the COVID-19 related extensions she should have been and that her applications for extensions were ignored. She should be allowed to reenter the program and complete her studies. Even the appearance of political motivation should concern your government.

Thank you for your attention to this serious matter. We will be closely following developments in this case.

Sincerely,
signatures
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

Cc:
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
Minister of External Affairs
Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India
South Block, Raisina Hill
New Delhi, Delhi, India 110001
Phone: (202) 647-4000
Twitter: @MEAIndia
Email: usdd2@meaindia.in

Antony J. Blinken
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520 USA
Phone: (202) 647-4000
Twitter: @ABlinken

H.E. Taranjit Singh Sandhu
Ambassador
Embassy of the Republic of India
2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: 1 202 939 7000
Fax: 1 202 265 4351
Email: psamb.washington@mea.gov.in
Twitter: @IndianEmbassyUS

 

Patricia A. Lacina
Chargé D’Affaires
United States Embassy – New Delhi
Panchsheel Marg
Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, 110021
Phone: +011-91-11-2419-8000
Fax: +011-91-11-2419-0017

 

Filed Under: India Tagged With: Safoora Zargar

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Paul H. Plotz, M.D., Washington, DC

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Astronomy – Arno Penzias, New Enterprises Associates*

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Medical Sciences – J. Joseph Blum, Duke University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deceased), Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser, Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy, University of Pittsburg

David Gross, (2004 Nobel Prize in Physics), Kavil Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara*

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Louis Nirenberg, New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Honorary Board Members

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, (1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine), New England Biolabs*

Myriam Sarachick, City College of New York

Harold Scheraga, Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Steven Weinberg, University of Texas, Austin*

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

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