The undersigned citizens of and friends of South Asia, who stand in

solidarity with all freedom-loving citizens of this region, release this

statement on Jammu and Kashmir.

We are deeply concerned by recent political developments in Jammu and

Kashmir. We are distraught that the people of this beleaguered land, who
have lived with violence and political disempowerment for decades, have
now been subjected to a further erosion of their rights under the intensified
military suppression of the last ten days.

Article 370 of the Indian Constitution represented a historical

understanding between the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the Indian
state. On 5 August 2019, not only was Article 370 abrogated, but the very
statehood of Jammu and Kashmir was abolished, bringing the region under
New Delhi’s direct rule. The manner in which these abrogations were
accomplished, through executive order and in the absence of a state
legislature, is a betrayal of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, whose
elected representatives were never consulted. This is a sharp departure
from democratic governance, and the constitutional validity of these
decisions has been rightfully challenged.

We condemn the curtailment of civil liberties in Jammu and Kashmir: the

blackout of telecommunications and internet services; the severe
restrictions on media and on the freedoms of movement, peaceful
assembly, and protest; and the violent suppression of demonstrations.
These are all violations of international human rights obligations, including
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which
India ratified in 1979.

We are alarmed by credible media reports of security forces having opened

fire on peaceful protestors and disturbed by the denials issued by the
authorities, who have gone on to accuse journalists of fabrication. We are
gravely concerned by the Government of India’s silencing of voices of
dissent, and detention of social activists, lawyers, journalists, and human
rights defenders. We condemn the Government of India’s use of
majoritarian populism to perpetuate a climate of fear across the country.

These actions of the Government of India exhibit a complete lack of

respect for constitutionalism, secularism, and democratic values. This does
not bode well for India’s people, who have, uniquely in South Asia,
benefited from decades of democratic rule. We are apprehensive of India’s
future as a democracy and the implications that this degeneration will have
on its population of 1.2 billion as well as on the rest of the subcontinen t.

We urge the Government of India to immediately end the inhuman

clampdown in Jammu and Kashmir, to restore civil liberties as well as the
flow of information, to immediately release all political detainees and
prisoners, and to enter into dialogue with the people of Jammu and
Kashmir.

In the middle of August, when we are meant to celebrate independence

from colonialism, we condemn this regression towards despotic rule. We
stand in solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and with people
across India and South Asia who aspire to peace, prosperity, and
fundamental freedoms.

Signed by:
1. A.S. Panneerselvan, journalist, Chennai
2. Asma Naeem, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland
3. Aamina Ahmad, teacher, Berkeley, California
4. Abdul Hameed Nayyar, retired from Quaid-i-Azam University,
Islamabad
5. Abhinit Khanna, independent arts manager, Mumbai
6. Aditi Adhikari, educator/ researcher, Kathmandu
7. Aftab Ahmad (PhD from JNU), Lecturer at Columbia University, New
York
8. Ajay Bhardwaj, PhD candidate, University of British Columbia,
Vancouver
9. Ajay Skaria, Professor of History and Global Studies, University of
Minnesota, Minneapolis
10. Akeel Bilgrami, Sidney Morgenbesser Professor of Philosophy,
Columbia University
11. Akhila L. Ananth, Ass. Professor in the School of Criminal
Justice, California State University, Los Angeles
12. Alan Hill, Lecturer, RMIT University, Melbourne
13. Alex Mabanta; student; University of California, Berkeley,
School of Law; Berkeley, CA
14. Alicia Virani, attorney, Los Angeles
15. Alok Adhikari, film editor, Kathmandu
16. Amar Singh, Amar and Associates Management Consultants,
Napa, California USA
17. Ambika Malik, education consultant, Delhi
18. Ameer Faaiz, attorney, Dehiwala, Sri Lanka
19. Anahita Mukherji, independent journalist, San Francisco Bay
Area
20. Anasuya Sengupta, poet, Bengaluru
21. Andrew Brandel, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
22. Angana Chatterji, University of California – Berkeley
23. Ania Loomba, English and Comparative Literature, University
of Pennsylvania
24. Anitha Pottamkulam, civil society organizer, Chennai
25. Anjali Arondekar, Assistant Prof. of Feminist Studies and
Comparative Literature, Univ. of California – Santa Cruz and Los
Angeles
26. Anjali Monteiro, filmmaker and academic, Mumbai
27. Anne Murphy; University of British Columbia; Vancouver, BC,
Canada
28. Annemari de Silva, researcher, International Centre for Ethnic
Studies, Colombo
29. Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, Professor, Univ. of Rhode Island,
Rhode Island, USA and Bangalore, India
30. Anu Muhammad, Professor of Economics, Jahangirnagar
University, Dhaka
31. Anuradha Roy, Professor of History, Jadavpur University,
Kolkata
32. Anurati Srivastva, Designer, Delhi
33. Anusheh Anadil, musician and artist, Dhaka
34. Anushka Meenakshi, filmmaker, Pondicherry
35. Ari Larissa Heinrich, Professor of Literature, University of
California – San Diego
36. Arnico Panday, atmospheric scientist, Kathmandu
37. Arpana Pandey, international development worker, Finland
38. Arthur Kleinman, Professor of Anthropology, Harvard
University
39. Arup Rahee; poet, singer, writer; Dhaka
40. Asanda Benya, Department of Sociology, University of Cape
Town, South Africa
41. Astrid Hoops, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town
42. Ayesha Jalal, Tufts University, Massachusetts
43. Ayusha Shrestha, Founder Director, Choo Mark & Futch,
Lalitpur, Nepal
44. Azhar Saleha Athar, Mississauga, Toronto
45. Aziz Fatima Hasnain, Secretary General, Centre for Physics
Education, Karachi
46. Balbinder Singh Bhogal, Sardarni Kuljit Kaur Bindra Chair in
Sikh Studies, Department of Religion, Hofstra University, New York
47. Baseer Naweed, executive director, International Human Rights
Council, Hong Kong
48. Beena Sarwar, journalist, Boston/Karachi
49. Benjamin Fildier, climate scientist, Paris
50. Bhaskar Sarkar, Professor of Film and Media Studies, UC Santa
Barbara

51. Bhavani Fonseka, Senior Researcher and Attorney, Centre for

Policy Alternatives, Colombo
52. Bhupinder Singh Juneja, doctoral Student,
53. Candace Fujikane, Associate Professor of English, University of
Hawai’i, Honolulu
54. Carmody Grey, professor, Durham University
55. Carola Lorea, Singapore, Asia Research Institute, National
University of Singapore
56. Catharine Neilson, photographer, Melbourne
57. Catherine Masud, filmmaker, Salem, Connecticut
58. Cathy Gere, Professor of History of Science and Medicine and
Director, Science Studies Program, Department of History, UC San
Diego
59. Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Distinguished Professor of Women’s
and Gender Studies & Dean’s Professor of the Humanities, Syracuse
University, Syracuse, New York
60. Chiara Letizia, Professor, UQAM (Université du Québec à
Montréal), Montreal
61. Chulani Kodikara, Colombo
62. Cristina Venegas, Associate Professor, University of California,
Santa Barbara
63. Cynthia Franklin, Professor of English, University of Hawai’I,
Honolulu
64. David Gordon White, Distinguished Professor of Religious
Studies, emeritus, University of California, Santa Barbara
65. David Palumbo-Liu, Louise Hewlett Nixon Professor, Stanford
University, Palo Alto
66. David Lelyveld, Professor of History (retired), William Paterson
University, USA
67. Debjani Bhattacharyya, Assistant Professor, Department of
History, Drexel University, USA
68. Dia Da Costa, Professor, University of Alberta, Edmonton,
Canada
69. Dwijo Goswami, consultant, New Delhi
70. Eelum Dixit, filmmaker, Lalitpur, Nepal
71. Elisabeth Weber, professor, University of California, Santa
Barbara
72. Farida Akhter, women’s rights activist, Dhaka
73. Gayatri Singh, librarian, UC San Diego
74. Geeta Patel; translator, researcher, writer; Charlottesville, USA
75. Gyanendra Pandey, historian, Emory University
76. Harsh Kapoor, editor, South Asia Citizens Web, Montpellier,
France
77. Heidi Grunebaum, Assistant Professor, Centre for Humanities
Research, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa
78. Himali Dixit, anthropologist and activist, Kathmandu
79. Imran Jamal, PhD candidate, SOAS, London
80. Indrani Chatterjee, University of Texas at Austin, USA
81. Jan Grey, bereavement counsellor, Sussex
82. Jinee Lokaneeta; professor, Drew University; Madison, New
Jersey
83. Joel Lee, Assistant Professor, Williams College, USA
84. Julie A. Carlson, Professor of English, Santa Barbara CA, USA
85. Jyoti Puri, Professor of Sociology, Boston, USA
86. Jyotirmoy Barua, advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh,
human rights activist
87. Jyotsna du Ciel, multi-disciplinary artist, Los Angeles
88. K. P. Jayasankar, filmmaker and academic, Mumbai
89. Kamala Visweswaran, Professor of Ethnic Studies, UC San
Diego
90. Kamayani Bali Mahabal, feminist and human rights activist,
Mumbai
91. Karan Shrestha, Artist and Filmmaker, Kathmandu/Mumbai
92. Kelly Hussey-Smith, lecturer, RMIT University, Melbourne
93. Khyber Farahi, Graduate Student of Public Administration,
Harvard Kennedy
94. Kul Chandra Gautam, Former Assistant Secretary-General of the
United Nations, New York
95. Laila Shereen Sakr, Assistant Professor, University of
California, Santa Barbara
96. Lamiya Mowla, Graduate student of Astronomy, Yale
University, USA
97. Lenin Raghuvanshi, founder and CEO, PVCHR
98. Liam Ward, Lecturer in Media and Communication, RMIT
University, Melbourne
99. Lubna Marium, researcher in arts and culture, Dhaka
100. M. V. Ramana, Professor at the University of British Columbia,
Vancouver
101. Mac Haque, musician, Dhaka
102. Madhumitha Krishnan, University of California, Berkeley
103. Maheen Zia, filmmaker, Karachi
104. Mahmud Rahman, writer and translator, San Francisco Bay
Area, USA
105. Malabika Majumdar, India
106. Malathi de Alwis, Socio-Cultural Anthropologist, Colombo
107. Manel Fonseka, Sri Lanka

108. Mario Gomez, International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Sri Lanka
109. Marisa de Silva, activist, Sri Lanka
110. Marta Gutman, City College of New York and the CUNY
Graduate Center, New York
111. Martha C. Nussbaum, Ernst Freund Distinguished Service
Professor of Law and Ethics, The University of Chicago, Chicago
112. Mary Hancock, Professor of Anthropology and History,
University of California, Santa Barbara
113. Masood Khan, Architect and Heritage Conservation
Professional, Needham, Massachusetts
114. Mayfair Yang, Religious Studies & East Asian Studies
Departments, University of California, Santa Barbara
115. Meera Sehgal, Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota
116. Meghna Guhathakurta, researcher, Dhaka
117. Milin George, HR Manager at Nandi Housing Pvt. Ltd.,
Bangalore
118. Moazzam Sheikh, librarian and author, San Francisco
119. Mubasher Rashid Rather, PhD Student, Watergam, Rafiabad,
Baramulla, Kashmir
120. Mubina Qureshi, Freelancer / Academician, St Paul, Minnesota
121. Muhammad Amjad, Retired Pakistan Government Servant,
Rawalpindi
122. Muktasree Chakma, rights activist, Bangladesh
123. Nalaka Gunawardene, writer and media analyst, Colombo
124. Nasim Banu Jamuna, photographer, Dhaka
125. Nausheen Ahmad, advocate, Karachi
126. Naveeda Khan, Associate Professor, Anthropology, Johns
Hopkins University
127. Nayan Shah, Professor of History and American Studies and
Ethnicity, University of Southern California
128. Nayantara Gurung Kakshapati; photographer and curator;
Kathmandu
129. Nikhil Anand, Associate Professor of Anthropology University
of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
130. Ninel Fernando, Colombo
131. Nisha Thapa, social worker and healthcare professional, San
Francisco
132. Nur Khan Md., human rights activist
133. Naila Zaman Khan, Director, Clinical Neuroscineces Center and
Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation
134. Nyla Ali Khan, Commissioner of the Oklahoma Commission of
the Status on Women and Member of the International Team of the
Governor of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City
135. Omar Tarek Chowdhury; author, translator and publisher; Dhaka
136. P. Muthulingam, Colombo
137. Panini Edirisinhe, Colombo
138. Pankaj Bisht, Editor, Samayantar monthly, Delhi
139. Parama Roy, Professor of English, University of California –
Davis
140. Parsa S. Sajid, Editor, Fragments Magazine, Dhaka
141. Partha Chatterjee, professor, Columbia University, New York
142. Patrick Anderson, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies,
Department of Communication and Department of Ethnic Studies,
University of California, San Diego
143. Paul Amar, professor, University of California, Santa Barbara,
USA
144. Paula Chakravartty, Associate Professor, Department of Media
Culture and Communication and the Gallatin School, New York
University
145. Pervez Hoodbhoy, Dept of Physics, Quaid-e-Azam University,
Islamabad
146. Peter Rachleff, Co-Executive Director, East Side Freedom
Library, St. Paul, Minnesota
147. Petra Lamberson, PhD student, University of California,
Berkeley, USA
148. Petra Costa, Filmmaker, Saõ Paulo
149. Piya Chatterjee, Professor, Scripps College, Claremont,
California
150. Ponni Arasu, Chennai
151. Prajwal Raj Gyawali, Lawyer, Kampala
152. Pranika Koyu, researcher/poet, Kathmandu
153. Prathama, mental health professional, Kathmandu
154. Prawin Adhikari, writer, Kathmandu
155. Preet Shah, women and children empowerment professional,
Kathmandu
156. Preeti Chopra; faculty, University of Wisconsin-Madison;
Madison
157. Prerna Gupta; Ph.D. student, University of British Columbia;
Vancouver
158. Projit Bihari Mukharji, Associate Professor, University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
159. Purnima Bose, Associate Professor, International Studies,
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
160. Qadri Ismail, professor, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
161. R. Radhakrishnan, Distinguished Professor of English,
Comparative and African American Literature
162. Rachel Sturman, Associate Professor, Department of History &
Asian Studies Program, Bowdoin College
163. Rachel Spence, poet and arts writer, London
164. Raghavendra Rao K.V., visual artist, Vancouver
165. Rahnuma Ahmed, writer, Dhaka
166. Raja Swamy, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of
Tennessee
167. Rana Behal, Fellow, Max Weber Centre of Advance Cultural
and Social Studies, Erfurt University, Germany
168. Ranitha Gnanarajah, AAL, Colombo
169. Rashid Latif Ansari, retired civil servant, Toronto
170. Rasik Patel, dentist, San Jose
171. Raviraj Shetty, Lead Therapist and Project Manager, Ummeed
Child Development Center, Mumbai
172. Raza Rumi, Editor, NayaDaur Media, Lahore
173. Reeta C. Tremblay, professor, University of Victoria
174. Richa Nagar, professor, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-
St. Paul
175. Ritty Lucose, professor of Anthropology and South Asia Studies,
New York University, NY
176. Ruchhita Kazaria, advertising professional and peace activist,
Kolkata
177. Ruchi Chaturvedi, Sr. Lecturer, University of Cape Town, Cape
Town, South Africa
178. Rupal Oza, Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies,
Hunter College, New York
179. Rupert Grey, solicitor, London
180. Saad Quasem, PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
181. Sadia Tasleem, Lecturer in Defence & Strategic Studies, Quaid-
i-Azam University, Islamabad
182. Sakuntala Kadirgamar, Executive Director, Law & Society
Trust, Colombo
183. Samarth Mahajan, filmmaker, Mumbai
184. Samia Khatun, Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Gender Studies,
SOAS, London
185. Sandhya Shukla, Associate Professor of English and American
Studies, University of Virginia
186. Sandra Laugier, Professor of Philosophy, Université Panthéon
Sorbonne, Paris
187. Saniaa Shah, Creative Director, Studio Aakar, Lalitpur, Nepal
188. Sapana Sakya, media-arts professional, San Francisco, California
189. Sarah Hoenicke, student, Comparative Literature, University of
California – Irvine
190. Saraswati Das, architect, New Delhi/Los Angeles
191. Sareena Khemka, artist, Bangalore
192. Saundarya Thapa, film researcher, Los Angeles
193. Saurabh Mishra, Lecturer, University of Sheffield
194. Saymon Zakaria, Assistant Director, Bangla Acadamy, Dhaka,
Bangladesh
195. Seema Nusrat Amin, Lecturer, Brac University, Dhaka
196. Sehba Sarwar, writer, Los Angeles, USA
197. Shahidul Alam, photographer, Dhaka
198. Shaista Patel, Assistant Professor of Critical Muslim Studies,
University of California, San Diego
199. Shamik Mishra, archivist, Kathmandu
200. Shareen Tuladhar, development worker, Kathmandu
201. Shari Daya, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, University of
Cape Town
202. Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, filmmaker, Karachi
203. Sharni Jayawardena, photographer/documentary filmmaker,
Colombo, Sri Lanka
204. Shefali Chandra, Washington University in St Louis
205. Sheldon Pollock, Professor of Sanskrit and South Asian Studies,
Columbia University
206. Shireen P Huq, Member, Naripokkho, Dhaka
207. Shreen Saroor, Women’s Action Network, Colombo
208. Shruti Jain; data scientist; Palo Alto, California
209. Shubhecha Tewari, Kathmandu, Nepal
210. Shumaila Hemani; ethnomusicologist; University of Alberta;
Edmonton, Alberta
211. Shweta Bajaj, journalist, New Delhi
212. Simone Mestroni, anthropologist, Udine
213. Siraj Khan, Global non-profit professional, Boston
214. Sitralega Maunaguru, Colombo
215. Smita Patel, director of communications, San Jose, California
216. Sofia Karim, Architect/Artist, London
217. Som Niroula, human rights activist, South Asia Forum for
Human Rights, Kathmandu
218. Somak Mukherjee, PhD Student and Researcher, University of
California-Santa Barbara
219. Sreela Sarkar, Assistant Professor of Communications, Santa
Clara University, Santa Clara
220. Srinidhi, writer and activist, Hyderabad
221. Stefan Fiol, University of Cincinnati, Associate Professor of
Music
222. Stephen Legg, University of Nottingham, UK
223. Steve Brown, railway activist, Oakland, California
224. Subrat Kumar Sahu, independent filmmaker, New Delhi
225. Sumanth Gopinath, Associate Professor of Music Theory,
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
226. Summar Khan, student, University of California – Berkeley
227. Sunaina Maira, professor, University of California-Davis,
Oakland, USA
228. Sushila Sharma, Project Manager, Planete Enfants and
Development Nepal, Lalitpur
229. Sushmita Jha, Delhi
230. Swati Chattopadhyay, Professor, History of Art and
Architecture, University of California, Santa Barbara
231. Syed M. Ali, Anthropologist/Adjunct Professor, Washington
D.C
232. Tapan Bose, human rights activist, New Delhi
233. Tom Maliti, journalist, Nairobi
234. Torsa Ghosal, Assistant Professor, California State University,
Sacramento/ Calcutta
235. Trupti Kanade, cinema researcher, Bombay
236. Tuni Chatterji; filmmaker; Los Angeles
237. Utkarsh Chawla, student, Boudha, Kathmandu
238. Vasuki Nesiah, Associate Professor of Practice, The Gallatin
School, New York University
239. Veena Gokhale, writer, Montreal
240. Veena Das, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Anthropology,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore
241. Victoria J. Collis-Buthelezi, Senior Lecturer, Dept. of English,
Univ. of Johannesburg, South Africa
242. Vijaya Nagarajan, Assoc. Prof. of Theology & Religious
Studies, Program in Environmental Studies, University of San
Francisco
243. Vinay Lal, Professor of History, UCLA, Los Angeles
244. Vinod Ravindran, theatre person, Bangalore
245. Vishal Sharma, student, Shimla
246. William Elison, Associate Professor, University of California,
Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California
247. Yanick Noiseux, professor, Université de Montréal, Montréal
248. Yasmin Jiwani, professor, Concordia University, Montreal,
Canada
249. Yousuf Saeed, independent filmmaker and writer, New Delhi,
India
250. Zafrullah Chowdhury, Trustee, Gonoshasthaya Kendra
251. Zia Mian, Program on Science and Global Security, Princeton
University