GUWAHATI: A total of 42 prominent scholars issued a statement expressing their solidarity with Professor Arupjyoti Saikia from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, who had been summoned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Saikia had been summoned on grounds of his alleged involvement in the violent anti-CAA protests in Guwahati. He is a professor of History in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT-G.
In their statement, the scholars and academicians expressed their concern over Saikia’s grilling by the NIA.
The statement issued by scholars stated: "We... write in distress and with concern with regard to the ongoing ordeal of... Professor Saikia is one of the country's most distinguished and respected historians. The author most recently of a landmark history of the Brahmaputra River, he has also written significant works on forest and agrarian history," the statement said. "That a scholar of such standing, and a human being of such decency, has been called for intensive grilling by the NIA is deeply distressing. We urge that the NIA treat him with the dignity and respect he deserves, and allow him to continue his professional work unimpeded."
The statement was jointly issued by the likes of academicians including Ramachandra Guha, Nandini Sundar, Niraja Gopal Jayal, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Geetha Venkataraman, Nayanjyot Lahiri, Janaki Nair and Raziuddin Aquil.