We, the undersigned, students at California State University stand in solidarity with the students, faculty, and staff at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. We are deeply concerned about the Indian state’s efforts to clamp down on dissent. We condemn the arrest of the JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar, the subsequent treatment of his family, and the media trials of students on the basis of their political beliefs. We condemn the use of the draconian sedition law to brand any criticism of the state seditious speech. We condemn the efforts of the Indian state to crush intellectual freedom and diversity across various campuses in India. The rise of state involvement, often through ABVP - the student wing of the ruling party, in the autonomous functioning of universities has become a pattern. The state’s response to the student protests at FTII and the incidents that led to the institutional murder of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula at HCU are a deep cause of concern. The university as a space for critical thought and free speech is essential to the functioning of a democracy. Branding dissent as anti-national creates a stigma around critical views and creates a chilling effect in the public domain. We are concerned about the climate of fear that the state and certain sections of the media are perpetuating by victimizing voices of dissent. We support the students, faculty and staff at JNU in their struggle.