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IAMC condemns Delhi police action on student protest
Indian American Muslim Council criticizes police response to Parliament march over examination irregularities and detentions.
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Staff Reporter - Wed, 22, Jul 2026
- 03:35 EDT
- 23
Indian American Muslim Council logo. / IAMC
The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) on July 21 condemned the police response to a student protest in New Delhi, where tens of thousands of demonstrators marched toward Parliament on the opening day of the Monsoon Session under the "Chalo Sansad" (March to Parliament) banner.
According to the Washington-based advocacy organization, the march was organized by a coalition of student groups protesting repeated examination irregularities, including the NEET paper leak controversy and other recruitment and competitive examination scandals. The protesters said the incidents had undermined confidence in India's education system and affected the futures of millions of students.
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The demonstrators called for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the handling of the examination controversies. Many also demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi take responsibility for what they described as broader failures in governance, education and youth employment.
IAMC alleged that Delhi Police used force to disperse the protesters. The organization said police carried out baton charges, fired tear gas shells at multiple locations in central Delhi and used pellet guns against unarmed demonstrators.
The group also said authorities imposed an internet shutdown within a five-kilometer radius of the protest site, closed five metro stations, erected multiple barricades and detained hundreds of protesters. It cited initial reports indicating that hundreds of people were injured, adding that widely circulated videos showed demonstrators with head wounds and bleeding injuries.
"The use of brute force, pellet guns, and tear gas against India's own students for exercising their constitutional right to peaceful assembly is a deeply alarming reflection of the Modi government's authoritarian approach to dissent," said IAMC President Mohammed Jawad.
Jawad also criticized the government's response to the protests.
"India's democratic credentials cannot be taken seriously when the government answers demands for educational accountability with the tools of repression," he said.
"The shutting down of internet access and closure of metro stations to prevent citizens from gathering are the hallmarks of an authoritarian state, and the international community must take note," Jawad added.
In its statement, IAMC called on the Government of India to release all detained protesters, drop any charges against them, stop using force against peaceful demonstrators and engage with students' demands.
The organization also called for accountability from the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership, including the resignation of Education Minister 'Dharmendra Pradhan'. It further urged the U.S. State Department to raise what it described as the Indian government's repression of dissent during engagements with Indian officials.
The statement concluded by expressing IAMC's solidarity with the students, activists and citizens who participated in the march.
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