German Student Deported for CAA Protest
A German student, studying at IIT-Madras, was asked to leave India after he took part in protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
A German student, studying at IIT-Madras, was asked to leave India after he took part in protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Jacob Lindenthal was an exchange student from Technische Universität. He was supposed to complete one more semester at IIT-Madras. He was pursuing his M.Sc in Physics.Students all over India were protesting the CAA.
At one such protest in Chennai, Lindenthal held a placard which read, "1933 to 1945; We Have Been There" (a reference to the Nazi regime in Germany)". Jacob first received a call from Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) when he was in Bengaluru. When he went back to Chennai, his course coordinator asked him to meet the immigration officials.
The immigration officials first started asking about his residential permit and then about his political views.
Jacob said that, “At one point, the officer, referring to my decision to take part in protests, said I was uninformed, that I should not have attended protests when I didn't know what I was protesting about. I disagreed,"He said that, “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,” Jacod says the officials promised to give him the letter, but he didn't receive it yet.
He said that, "In Germany, nobody is ever evicted for participating in a legal demonstration,"Jacob’s Visa is valid from June 2019-June 2020 but he has said he will not come back to India because the immigration officials have told him not to come back.
