German student leaves India after being asked to go for taking part in anti-CAA protests

Jakob Lindenthal, a German student, who was on an exchange programme and was attached to the Physics Department of the IIT Madras has left India after Bureau of Immigration authorities asked him to leave since his participation in CAA demonstrations over domestic issues allegedly violated visa regulations.

Chennai (TN): A German student who took part in anti-CAA protests here last week has left India after Bureau of Immigration authorities asked him to leave since his participation in demonstrations over domestic issues allegedly violated visa regulations.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, meanwhile, said the German national deserved the gratitude of Indians.

Jakob Lindenthal, who was here on an exchange programme, was attached to the Physics Department of the IIT Madras and he left the country last night, sources in the institute said.

Holding a placard that had an indirect reference to the Nazi persecution of the Jews in Germany between 1933-45 during the Hitler regime, he had told co-participants at a protest here last week that small measures against Jews had not attracted much attention initially.

Such measures eventually led to their mass killings, he had said.

The placard read "1933-1945 We have been there." He had also held another one which read, "No democracy without dissent."

Jakob, who had also taken part in a protest at the institute's Gajendra Circle against the amendment to the Citizenship Act, was a student of the Technical University of Dresden in Germany.

Chidambaram, in a series of tweets, said: "The German is reminding us of a dark chapter in the world's history so that we may not repeat that in India. The student deserves our gratitude.

Where is the Director of IIT? Where is the Chairman? Let us hear from both of them.

Where are the other students of IIT? They should protest the reported expulsion of a German student."

Pursuing his Master's degree, Jakob 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.

Immigration authorities were unavailable for comments.

In a tweet, Jakob said: "I will be alright. The best thing to do now: Change the world. A white guy evicted from India may get more media coverage, but this happens every day for even flimsier reasons and some people have nobody to call and nowhere to go."