Indian students in US come out in support of Anna Hazare

A group of 35 students, went to the Indian Embassy in Washington on Sunday to submit a memorandum addressed to the President of India.

"We as non-resident Indian citizens, unequivocally condemn the attitude of GOI (Government of India), and demand your intervention into the matter.

"By failing to curb corruption, and by denying the constitutional rights to its citizens, we believe the government has lost moral authority to govern," the petition, signed by the students, said.

Similar petitions are being submitted at various Indian Consulates in the US.
Ashutosh Gupta, a physics graduate from the prestigious IIT-Kharagpur and a Ph.D student at the University of Maryland, College Park, has been a spending more time in organising his fellow Indian students to launch a campaign on the internet through various social networking sites in support of Hazare.

"The entire nation is ashamed of it (corruption). Even though we are far away from our motherland, as an Indian it is our responsibility to support this movement against corruption," Ashutosh said, after a 'support Anna' get together at the varsity campus yesterday.

"We as students here can't raise funds and join the movement in India, but at least we can show our solidarity with Anna Hazare," said Umang Agarwal, another Ph.D student at the University.

Ashutosh said Indian students have planned to sit in silent protests before the Indian Embassy in Washington for the next several days beginning today.