German student at IIT Madras asked to leave India for joining protest against Citizenship Amendment Act 

A student from Germany in the Master’s course of Department of Physics at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras has been allegedly sent back for taking part in agitation on varsity campus and elsewhere in Chennai against amended citizenship law and against police crackdown on students.

Jakob Lindenthal, a PG student of physics at IIT Madras, had reportedly left for Amsterdam on Monday, December 23. According to a report in Indian Express, Jakob stated that he had received oral directions to leave India from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office in Chennai.

After I reached Chennai this morning, my course coordinator advised me to meet immigration officials immediately. When I reached there, they cited some administrative issues related to my residential permit in India. After I resolved their queries and it was clear that there were no issues regarding my residential permit, they started asking me about my politics and hobbies. It was an extensive casual conversation. They asked about CAA and my participation in anti-CAA protests. We discussed the demonstration culture. There were three officers including one who asked me all questions. All of them were unnamed. Towards the end of the conversation, they said I may have to leave the country immediately for violating my student visa rules. When I asked for a written letter, they returned my passport and said that I may leave. They said I will get the written letter but I did not receive one. Soon, I rushed back to IIT campus, booked my ticket, packed everything and left for the airport,” Jakob said to Indian Express.

“I received a call from an official in the Dean’s office. She suggested that I may leave tomorrow. Since it is going to be Christmas eve tomorrow, I chose to leave immediately,”

In photos from protest of last week, Jakob was spotted at many protests. He was allegedly asked by officials at the varisty that his participation in the protests was a violation of his visa terms and he had to leave the country immediately. Jakob hails from Dresden in Germany.

Students of IIT Madras had call it a shame that such a decision was taken, given the student, had a semester to complete.

Apart from activists and students, several political leaders have also tweeted their condemnation.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, in a tweet tagging Education Minister RP Nishank, said: This is dismaying. We used to be a proud democracy, an example to the world: thefederal.com/states/south/t... No democracy punishes freedom of expression. I call on @DrRPNishank to instruct @iitmadras to withdraw the expulsion & allow India to hold its head high in the academic world."