"We, as students and responsible citizens of India, unequivocally condemn this act by the Government of India," they said in a memorandum to the Indian President, submitted at the Indian Embassy here.
The memorandum was signed by Indian students at University of Maryland and represented three different organisations -- Indian Student Groups at UMD, College Park; DESI (Develop, Empower and Synergize India) and Students Council of India.
"By failing to curb corruption, and by denying the constitutional rights to its citizens, we believe that the government has lost moral authority and people's faith, and should be dismissed with immediate effect," it said.
"The police invasion in the middle of night to throw out more than 70,000 innocent people reminds us of the dark periods of emergency which we have read only in books," it said.
The action in a closed compound could have even led to a stampede, resulting in the loss of an enormous number of innocent lives, the students stated.
"Unarmed people of all age groups, including women, children and elderly, were tear-gassed, lathi-charged and pounded upon by police forces. This use of force on a peaceful protest by the government seems to have justified the point of some sections which use violence in order to be heard," the memorandum said.
Ashutosh Gupta, PhD student at the University of Maryland, questioned, "If people can't even do a peaceful protest, what else people can do in a democracy? The way the Government of India has taken actions against peaceful protesters is completely unacceptable."
© 2024 Rediff.com -