India protests: German student pictured warning of ‘Nazi precedent’ is kicked out of country

Jakob Lindenthal was told he violated student visa conditions because of ‘political activities outside campus’

Jakob Lindenthal, a German student, attends a march to show solidarity with the students of New Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia university after police entered the university campus following a protest against a new citizenship law, in Chennai, India, 16 December, 2019. (P. Ravikumar/Reuters)

A German student pictured holding a sign warning of a Nazi precedent during protests against India's new citizenship law has been kicked out of the country.

Jakob Lindenthal, a 24-year-old exchange student studying a master’s degree in physics, said he took part in two rallies in the southern city of Chennai against the legislation, which discriminates against India’s minority Muslims.

A photo circulated on Twitter showed Mr Lindenthal, who was studying at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, holding a sign which read: “1933-1945 We have been there,” in an apparent reference to Nazi Germany.

The student said he was summoned to a meeting with India’s immigration authorities on Monday and told he had violated the conditions of his student visa due to his “political activities outside the campus”, and must therefore leave the country.

Mr Lindenthal said during the meeting he was asked for his views on the protests against the new Indian law, which grants citizenship to non-Muslim religious groups fleeing persecution from three Muslim-majority countries.

Speaking from New Delhi while waiting for a flight back to Germany, he said: “I think nobody can claim that I was just there to exploit my student visa to go on anti-government demonstrations and harm the country’s integrity or something. But that was how they presented it to me.”

Chinta Bar, a student collective at IIT, shared a video and images of Mr Lindenthal on Twitter, adding: “ChintaBAR extends solidarity and gratitude to Jakob Lindenthal, for being part of struggles to protect the rights of people in this country and his concern for humanity.”

India’s Home Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while a spokesman for the foreign ministry declined to comment.

The Indian Express newspaper quoted an official at India’s Foreigners Regional Registration Office as saying while he was unaware of Mr Lindenthal’s case, it appeared to be a “clear case” of violating visa rules.

Indian opposition leaders, who accuse Modi’s Hindu nationalist government of strong-armed tactics to muzzle dissent, decried Mr Lindenthal’s expulsion.

Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor tweeted: “This is dismaying. We used to be a proud democracy, an example to the world. No democracy punishes freedom of expression.”

At Pondicherry University in southern India, four students boycotted the graduation ceremony on Monday and one refused to accept her gold medal in protest at the citizenship law, according to student council president Parichay Yadav.

India’s ruling party lost a key state election on Monday as it faces massive ongoing anti-government protests against its contentious new citizenship law.

According to results announced late on Monday, prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost seats to an alliance forged among the opposition Congress party and powerful regional groups in eastern Jharkhand state, where the voting took place this month.

The election was held amid protests calling for the revocation of the citizenship law, which critics say is the latest effort by Mr Modi’s government to marginalise India’s 200 million Muslims.

BJP leaders said the new citizenship law was not an issue in the Jharkhand election, but Congress party leader RPN Singh said the results were a snub to Mr Modi’s party, which won only 25 of 81 state legislature seats.

The Congress party and its allies won 47 seats, ending the BJP’s five-year rule in the state.

Additional reporting by Associated Press.