Indian Americans slam police crackdown on student protesters in Delhi
IAMC urges US to raise Modi regime’s brutal repression with Indian officials
Washington: The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) has strongly condemned the violent police crackdown on tens of thousands of peaceful student protesters in New Delhi during the “Chalo Sansad” March to Parliament.
According to Kashmir Media Service, IAMC, the largest advocacy group representing Indian American Muslims, said Delhi Police, reporting directly to the Union Home Ministry, resorted to baton charges, tear gas shelling and pellet guns against unarmed demonstrators instead of dialogue.
The march was organized by a coalition of student organizations to protest repeated examination irregularities, including the NEET paper leak and other recruitment scandals, which students say have destroyed the integrity of India’s education system and ruined the futures of millions of youth. Protesters demanded the resignation of Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and held Prime Minister Narendra Modi responsible for systemic failures in governance, education and youth employment.
Authorities imposed a near-total internet shutdown within a five-kilometer radius of the protest site, closed five metro stations, erected multiple layers of barricades and detained hundreds of protesters. Initial reports indicate hundreds were injured, with footage showing young demonstrators with head wounds and bleeding injuries.
“The use of brute force, pellet guns, and tear gas against India’s own students for exercising their constitutional right to peaceful assembly is a deeply alarming reflection of the Modi government’s authoritarian approach to dissent,” said IAMC President Mohammed Jawad.
“India’s democratic credentials cannot be taken seriously when the government answers demands for educational accountability with the tools of repression,” Jawad added. “The shutting down of internet access and closure of metro stations to prevent citizens from gathering are the hallmarks of an authoritarian state, and the international community must take note.”
IAMC has called on the Indian government to immediately release all detained protesters, drop all charges, cease the use of force against peaceful demonstrators, and engage with the demands of India’s students.
Citing the government’s repeated examination failures and broader crackdown on dissent, IAMC demanded accountability from the BJP leadership, including the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. IAMC further urged the U.S. State Department to address the Modi government’s systematic repression of dissent in its engagements with Indian officials.
The Council reiterated its solidarity with the students, activists and citizens who marched today in defense of their constitutional rights.
