Rt Hon Chris Skidmore MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you as President of the British Sociological Association to express our deepest opposition to the current crackdown by state forces on peaceful student protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act, and to the principles of the Act itself which proposes to explicitly legitimate discrimination against Muslims in India.

Peaceful protest is a central element of the democratic right to free speech and public debate and to repress this with violent force is unacceptable. As a professional association representing Sociology researchers and students, we are deeply concerned that this crackdown has targeted Universities, leaving protestors with serious injuries and, apparently, encouraging more widespread attacks on students.

As Minister of State with responsibility for Universities and Science, we call on you to express the British government’s opposition to these actions and to call on the Indian government to stop these actions immediately. Furthermore, we call on you to condemn attacks on the citizenship rights of religious minorities which have been the focus of many of these protests.

Professor Susan Halford
President, British Sociological Association