Joint Action Committee for Social Justice - Delhi sharedJoint Action Committee for Social Justice -UoH's post.
An Open Letter to Telangana Chief Minister KCR from Indian Citizens in US. Please read and sign the Petition!
"On the occasion of Telangana Formation Day we are writing to you with grave concerns about the ongoing situation at the Hyderabad Central University. It is now over five months from the time that Rohith Vemula committed suicide. That the suicide was a result of ongoing discrimination and a relentless institutional apartheid is an open secret. And yet, not only has the Vice Chancellor returned to the university, but over the last two months has unleashed a fresh round of brutal violence on students and faculty. All this is happening under your watch. We are appalled that your government has consistently chosen to sidestep the issue by positioning it as a matter that concerns the central government. There is no confusion in our minds though that the police force that entered the campus and brutalized the students and faculty at the behest of the Vice Chancellor are part of the Telangana State Police under your charge. While the appointment of the Vice Chancellor is indeed the prerogative of the central government, there is no reason that you cannot have a clear position on the matter, especially in as much as the actions of such officers impact your city and your state. Let us also not forget Hyderabad Central University came into existence as part of the six-point settlement at the end of the first Telangana movement. The university is in that sense a direct product of the Telangana struggle and therefore a space over which Telangana government has moral authority.
We demand immediate action along the following three lines.
1. We seek immediate clarification on your conversations with the Prime Minister on the matter of the Vice Chancellor's removal, something you had promised two months ago.
2. We demand the immediate suspension of all the responsible police officers and the constitution of a high-level commission of inquiry. You had promised a high-level inquiry into police conduct at the University. Yet again, two months later neither has a high-level commission of inquiry been instituted nor have any corrective steps been taken to discipline the police force that flagrantly violated democratic and human rights.
3. Fast-tracking of the case against the Vice Chancellor. Once again it is your inaction on this matter that speaks loudly. While students and faculty have been brutalized and ferried across several police stations, the Vice Chancellor has remained outside the purview of the law. We demand that the state government act under the aegis of the Atrocities Act and produce the Vice Chancellor in court and ensure that the case moves forward. Failure to do so would be indicative that you condone brutal caste apartheid.
The Telangana movement was built in significant proportion by the Dalit Community of the state. You will remember that the movement owed so much to the Dalit Community that at one point it was even anticipated that the first Chief Minister of a new Telangana would be a movement leader from the Dalit community. The world is watching the Telangana state government. The inability to respond to atrocities against the Dalit community is a blemish that a new state seeking international investments and a presence in the global economy can ill-afford. There are clear and unambiguous actions that you can take and will be held accountable for. On the occasion of Telangana Formation Day we seek your urgent cooperation and we hope that the dream of justice as a central principle of Telangana continues to hold."
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