JNU Scholar from Manipur Arrested for Penning Article "Critical of Government"

Imphal, April 11, 2020:

Chingiz Khan, a pangal (manipuri Muslim) scholar who is pursuing a PhD in History at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi has been remanded in police custody for writing an article critical of the Government in a local daily called The Ichel Express.

The article entitled "Political Ploy to Push Muslim into Marginalization" drew the notice of the local authorities who were prompt in arresting on April 8. After his arrest by the Mayang Imphal Police, he has been remanded in police custody for six days.

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The arrest of the History scholar has been openly condemned by Manipur's student bodies in Delhi. The Manipur Students' Association Delhi (MSAD) has been quick to condemn the arrest of the scholar. Talking to Inside Northeast, Thokchom Singhajit, the General Secretary of the Manipuri students' body said, "Such acts are suppressing the right to freedom of expression being a human-being. If the government continues to do such act of arresting and threatening students who speak for egalitarian and independent society, people will stand against them."

Singhajit also drew attention to other similar incidents which have occurred in the recent past during the lockdown. "Arrest of  Victor Konsam for asking "How much money CM has personally donated to CM Relief Fund" on Facebook, arrest of General Secretary and President of Youth Forum for Protection of Human Rights for suggesting the government to shift the location of building quarantine hospital from Langthabal Paddy field to Changangei Airfield, and the The arrest of Dr. Laifungfam Debabrata (Boby) Roy, Convener of the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights in Manipur and the UN for his criticism to the way CM control Covid 19 are other such examples", he said.

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Meanwhile, the Delhi Association of Manipur Muslim Students has also decried the "arbitrary detention" of Khan. In a statement, it lashed out at the Government for the alleged stifling of dissent, which it claims has become a "norm" now in India.

Shedding further light on the incident, the Muslim organization stated, "While everyone is suffering from price rise of daily essential commodities due to the ongoing lockdown, Government is so rushed in detaining a phD scholar from JNU, Md Chingiz Khan, for writing a column in a Manipuri daily, The Ichel Express, criticising Government's flawed and biased implementation of public policies with hard truths and facts.

It has further been reported that Khan was detained after the column in question was claimed to "incite communal disharmony."

The student body has made an appeal to the Government to stop "assaulting" dissenters. "Mere criticisms of government's policies and program cannot be the ground for detaining someone", the statement said.

Demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the JNU scholar, the students' body has also appealed national and international human rights bodies to look into the matter.

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