Azim Premji University Students Mark Solidarity With Palestine During Convocation

Azim Premji University held its convocation ceremony on Saturday, distributing degrees to graduating students. The convocation was marked by the expression of the students asking to end ties between Wipro and Tel Aviv, showing solidarity with the Palestinian people and protesting Israel’s ongoing genocidal war in Gaza.

Students wore Kafaiya and stickers calling for an “end to the ties between Wipro and Tel Aviv”. However, the expression was opposed by some faculty members, but students remained firm, expressing solidarity with Palestine.

As per the Maktoob report, a student said that Wipro is funding our university, and has been complicit in the genocide against Palestinians by partnering with Israel in many research projects, many of which are used to develop technologies to massacre innocent Palestinians. “Israel is an illegal state and occupation, and any ties with it should be resisted”, the student stated.

The APU graduating batch of 2025 said in a statement, “We condemn the Israeli state and all the organizations that support this genocide”.

According to the statement, “APU is funded by the Azim Premji Foundation, a philanthropic venture initiated by Azim Premji. The Foundation holds about 66% of the economic ownership of Wipro Ltd, a leading technology services and consulting company. Wipro has an ongoing joint research partnership with Ramot, Tel Aviv University (TAU) – the largest higher education institution in Israel. There have also been allegations of ties with the Israeli military”.

Students also raised slogans in solidarity with Gaza, gathered and hel placards reading ‘Stop funding genocide”.