German Student Asked to Leave India for Anti-Modi Protests
With a reference to Nazi Germany, Lindenthal was carrying a poster that equated PM Modi with dictator Adolf Hitler.
By Rakesh Raman
Jacob Lindenthal, a German student at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, said Monday that the Indian authorities have asked him to leave the country for protesting against the new citizenship law that has sparked nationwide protests.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been protesting on the roads against a new discriminatory citizenship law called Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA 2019 imposed by PM Narendra Modi and his Home Minister Amit Shah. It is said that nearly 20 people have died in the past couple of weeks in the protests.
With a reference to Nazi Germany, Lindenthal was carrying a poster that said “1933 to 1945; We Have Been There.” During the period between 1933 and 1945, dictator Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party had ruled Germany. Lindenthal’s poster therefore equated Modi with Hitler.
An independent student body Chinta Bar in IIT Madras said that it extends solidarity and gratitude to Jakob Lindenthal for being part of struggles to protect the rights of people in this country and his concern for humanity.
It has come to our notice that, Jakob Lindenthal, an MS exchange student from Germany in the department of Physics at IIT Madras has been asked to leave the country by the immigration department due to his participation in the anti CAA protests. pic.twitter.com/fKSgmkK0A0
— ChintaBAR (@ChintaBAR) December 23, 2019
Recently, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had also expressed her concern over the persisting human rights violations being committed by India in Kashmir. Merkel has criticized PM Modi’s clampdown in Kashmir. She said that the situation for the people of Kashmir is not sustainable and not good.
As the government-backed security forces are using force against the peaceful protesters particularly students, people are blaming Modi and his Home Minister Amit Shah for spreading violence in the country.
Both Modi and Shah – who were accused in crimes including murders – are currently controlling all the affairs in India. As chief minister of Gujarat, Modi was an accused in the Gujarat riots of 2002 in which nearly 2000 people – mostly Muslims – were killed. And Amit Shah is an accused in the case related to the death of judge B.H. Loya who had died in mysterious circumstances.
It is being observed that Modi and Shah are using the Gujarat model of carnage in all parts of India, as their new laws are designed to harm Muslims in the country. In fact, in his speech of Sunday (December 22) in Delhi, PM Modi encouraged police to use force against protesters. Earlier, in Gujarat also he had given a free hand to police that had unleashed terror on Muslims.
As the protests are happening in India against a new discriminatory citizenship law called Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA 2019, police – particularly in Delhi – have beaten the protesters mercilessly.
The government has also imposed many restrictions in most parts of the country including India’s capital New Delhi. The restrictions include shutdown of Internet and mobile services, termination of local train services, arrests of protesters, and the imposition of Section 144 that prohibits assembly of four or more people in an area.
It is said that nearly 200 university students who were protesting on December 15 in Delhi have been admitted to hospital with serious injuries including bullet wounds inflicted by Delhi Police which entered the university without permission to brutalize unarmed students. The incident is being compared to China’s brutality on students at Tiananmen Square.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications on different subjects.
