Students at the Azim Premji University protested against the university’s ties with Israel, calling the country an illegal state accused of committing genocide in Gaza, and alleging that projects linked to Israel were aiding the development of technologies used to massacre Palestinians, thereby terming the university complicit in the ongoing genocide, during the convocation ceremony held on Saturday.
Graduating students attended the event wearing stickers that demanded an end to Wipro’s ties with Tel Aviv, in what they described as an expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people and a protest against Israel’s continuing assault on Gaza.
The protest took place in the presence of faculty and guests, with students asserting that their act of dissent stemmed from ethical opposition to the university’s financial and institutional association with companies that, according to them, indirectly support Israel’s military apparatus.
The demonstration, though symbolic in nature, drew attention to the link between the Azim Premji Foundation and Wipro Ltd, as the Foundation holds a majority of the company’s shares and funds the university. Wipro’s ongoing collaboration with Ramot, the technology transfer company of Tel Aviv University, became the focus of student criticism, as they alleged that such partnerships facilitate the production of research and technologies that contribute to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
While certain faculty members reportedly opposed the public display of protest material during the convocation, students continued their demonstration and gathered in solidarity, holding placards and raising slogans that demanded accountability from institutions profiting from or collaborating with entities accused of supporting genocide.
The students’ statement emphasised their disapproval of any academic or corporate relationship with Israel, asserting that such engagements normalise an occupation condemned globally and reinforce the structural violence inflicted upon Palestinians. They argued that the university, by benefiting from funds connected to Wipro, shared responsibility for sustaining a system that enables the use of advanced technology in warfare.