'Forced to leave India after speaking up for political freedom', says German student Jakob Lindenthal

German student Jakob Lindenthal, who participated in protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Chennai last week, left India on Tuesday night after Bureau of Immigration authorities asked him to leave. [caption id=“attachment_7825991” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Jakob Lindenthal , exchange student at IIT Madras took part in an anti-CAA protest in Chennai. News18[/caption] Lindenthal, a post-graduate student of the Technical University of Dresden in Germany, in a Facebook post, said that he reached Amsterdam on Wednesday morning. He thanked those who had supported him in India and expressed his support to those participating in the protests against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). “These events are not so much about me but show that political freedom and the rule of law need the support of millions of open eyes and loud voices. My deep respect goes to all of you who carry the protests against CAA and NRC across India and across the world,” he said. He also acknowledged those who could not openly participate in the protests “because their existences would be threatened but who still find their ways to support those who are showing their faces”.

“Even though the protests happen for very concerning reasons I hope that they will bring together people who want a change for the better, for true representation, freedom of expression and civil rights,” he said. He also posted on his Instagram account, saying that he was “forced to leave suddenly after speaking up for political freedom”.

Shame.
I love that he makes the distinction between India and her rulers - despite the odds. pic.twitter.com/ZIRbjwg0i5

— Durga (@the_bongrel) December 24, 2019

Lindenthal, who was in India on an exchange programme, was attached to the Physics Department of the IIT Madras. Last week, he participated in a protest holding a placard that had an indirect reference to the Nazi persecution of the Jews in Germany between 1933-45 during the Hitler regime. The placard read “1933-1945…we have been there.” He had also held another one which read, “No democracy without dissent.” Lindenthal had reportedly told co-participants at the protest that small measures against Jews had not attracted much attention initially. Such measures eventually led to their mass killings, he had said. He had also taken part in a protest at the institute’s Gajendra Circle against the amendment to the Citizenship Act. Pursuing his Masters degree, he came to India in July this year and his programme was to end next year at IIT Madras. An IIT student body, Chinta Bar, said he was asked to leave the country by the immigration department due to his participation in the anti-CAA protests. With inputs from PTI