On October 16, 2023, Delhi police arrested at least 60 people at a pro-Palestine protest organized by the All India Students Association.

Around 100 people – mostly students and teachers from Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru universities – had gathered to express their support for Palestine by peacefully chanting slogans such as “Justice for Palestine” and “Gaza we are with you.” The protesters had applied for and been denied permission to hold the protest.

Police forcibly loaded around 60 protesters onto buses and took them to Jafarpur police station in southwest Delhi. They were released that evening.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the detention of students in an effort to restrict the nonviolent exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly — conduct that is expressly protected by international human rights instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which India is a party. State authorities have a responsibility to refrain from restricting nonviolent expression or assembly. In addition to the harm to the immediate victims, such incidents undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-at-least-60-people-detained-after-pro-palestinian-rally-at-jantar-mantar-647693
https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/delhi-police-detain-pro-palestine-supporters-for-holding-protests-without-permission/cid/1973817