India – CASR: Condemn the arrest of research scholar Hindol Majumdar
We share hereby the statement issued by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) against a recent arrest of an activist.
On 13th August 2025, Hindol Majumdar, a former student of pharmaceutical technology at Jadhavpur University who had been pursuing his PhD at University of Granada in Spain for the past two years, was detained at Delhi Airport upon his arrival at 10:30 a.m. based on a lookout circular that had been issued against him for his alleged involvement in the “attack” on the convoy of education minister Bratya Basu at JU campus in March this year. When in JU, Hindol had been associated with Democratic Youth-Students’ Association, an organisation based in Bengal. In the evening of 13th, his parents (both retired professors from JU) were summoned by the Delhi Police to IGI Airport Police Station, and were informed that he would be handed over to Kolkata Police.
After ten long hours of harrassment and detention, his phone and laptop were seized forcefully and he was arrested by Kolkata Police based on the same allegation under case 39/25 u/s 126(2), 118(1), 54, 324(2), 61(2) BNS read with 3&5 PDPP Act, 9 WBMPO Act and 2 Flag Code of India 2002. The charges include wrongful restraint, causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous means, mischief, criminal conspiracy, damage to public property, subversive acts and disrespect to the national flag. This case is completely false and based on fictional narrative woven by the police forces.
The alleged “attack” on Bratya Basu’s convoy was actually a joint protest organised by the students and various democratic and progressive student organisations of Jadhavpur University to present their demands to the Bengal Education Minister who had come there for a meeting of the West Bengal College and University Professors’ Association (WBCUPA), a body associated with TMC. When the students peacefully attempted to communicate with Basu over union elections which had been withheld for the past five years, they were attacked by over a thousand TMC backed goons. As the students gathered in front of his vehicle, instead of engaging with them, the minister tried to flee, driving his vehicle over the students who came in his way. One student from Revolutionary Students Front (RSF) was run over by his car, causing a head injury and bleeding so severe that he had to be admitted in ICU. Another Democratic Youth-Students’ Association (DYSA) activist sustained serious injuries in his neck and leg. Many other students were also injured and atleast ten others had to go to hospital. The same state and police that took no action against the minister who ran is car over the students in a clear attempt to murder is very prompt to harass, threaten, and arrest students in fabricated charges.
What is being painted as an “attack” on Basu’s convoy was actually an attack by the minister and his goons on the students protesting for their democratic demand of student union elections to be held. It was an attack on academic freedom and democracy. It was an attack similar to the 2021 incident of the minister’s son running his car over protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri. It was an attack by the state on democratic spaces and voices.
The witch-hunt and harassment of students— through look-out notices, FIRs, fabricated cases, false allegations and arrests— that followed the March 1 protest is yet another attack of Brahminical Hindutva Fascism on the students and people of this country fighting for their very basic democratic rights. Hindol, who has now been arrested in relation to an alleged “attack” on the minister’s convoy was not even in the country at the time on the incident. He had been doing his research in Spain since November 2023. So since there was no other basis to arrest him, the state has built up a story of him “funding the ones involved in the incident”.
This has happened amid the environment of a wider crackdown on all democratic and dissenting voices. This attack has intensified ever since the introduction of Surajkund Scheme in 2022 which claims to wipe off “naxalism of pen and gun”. Under this all democratic voices including the students, professors, intellectuals, journalists, lawyers, workers unions, peasant organisations, artists, poets etc are being targeted. The Indian state is slowly peeling off even it’s pretense of democracy. With it, it is snatching away all civil liberties and academic freedoms from the people. 14 students from Jamia Millia Islamia university had been illegally detained after a protest against repression in February this year. In May, Ali Khan Muhammad, an associate professor at Ashoka University was arrested for a post on social media condemning Operation Sindoor. July 2025 saw a series of illegal abduction, enforced disappearance and brutal third degree torture of seven students and activists from Delhi by Delhi Police Special Cell. In the beginning of this month, the Jammu & Kashmir Home Department had banned 25 books on Kashmir. The NIA, while cooking up the Lucknow Conspiracy Case (another false conspiracy case of the BK16-type) has mentioned multiple times in it’s press releases it’s plans to clamp down on student groups and organisations in this case.
Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) unequivocally condemns such attacks on students, educational spaces and academic freedoms. We demand the immediate release of Hindol Majumdar and urge all sections of the society to stand against this witch-hunt of students, professors, activists and democratic voices. We also urge all democratic forces to come together and oppose Surajkund Scheme.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST STATE REPRESSION
Organising Team
(AIRSO, AISA, AISF, APCR, ASA, BASF, BSM, Bhim Army, bsCEM, CEM, COLLECTIVE, CRPP, CSM, CTF, DISSC, DSU, DTF, Forum Against Repression Telangana, Fraternity, IAPL, Innocence Network, Karnataka Janashakti, LAA, Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, Mazdoor Patrika, NAPM, Nazariya Magazine , Nishant Natya Manch, Nowruz, NTUI, People’s Watch, Rihai Manch, Samajwadi Janparishad, Smajwadi lok manch, Bahujan Samjavadi Mnach, SFI, United Peace Alliance, WSS, Y4S)
