The reports and visuals of the police brutally and violently attacking the students of Jamia Milia Islamia University during the afternoon hours yesterday has sparked off a huge series of protests throughout the country.
The atrocity and brutality with which students were handled and treated by the police after a series of peaceful protests that they were holding against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act has successfully sparked off a wave of student resistance across university campuses, right from the Aligarh Muslim University to IIT Madras.
It was on Sunday afternoon that the news of arson and violence erupted from the site of protests against the Citizenship(Amendment) Act that was being organised by the students of the JMI.
The students community of JMI later issued a joint statement and confirmed that they had not taken part in any kind of violence and their protests were peaceful. They also condemned any form of violence that may have unfolded on the campus. The Delhi Police entered the JMI campus and allegedly fired tear gas shells into enclosed spaces such as the library, this led to massive injuries for some students and the police also resorted to lathi-charge and brutally beat up the students.
As the reports of the police brutality emerged, students throughout the country began protesting against it and stood in solidarity with the students of the JMI and against the brutality displayed by the Delhi Police.
The police had also reportedly cracked down on students of the Aligarh Muslim University(AMU). Sources suggest that nearly 100 students were injured during the clash between the students and the police.
In Hyderabad’s Maulana Azad National Urdu University too students have decided to boycott the scheduled end-semester examinations in solidarity with the students of JMI. The students’ union of the university has passed a resolution and announced that they are planning a big protests against the brutal assault on students of JMI and AMU and have requested the administration to go ahead and postpone their examinations.
Protests have also been planned in IIT Madras, Pondicherry University and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Reports suggest that the Students’ Federation of India, the students wing of the CPI(M) will hold protests across the cities of Trichy, Coimbatore and Tiruvallur in order to protest against the Citizenship(Amendment) Act. Students of IIT Bombay have also expressed solidarity with the students of JMI and AMU.
The students of Tata Institute of Social Sciences(TISS) have also decided to engage in mass boycott of classes in solidarity with the violence that unfolded on the students of JMI and AMU universities yesterday.
West Bengal’s Jadavpur University also organised a mid-night march against the violence at JMI and condemned the brutal action taken by the police. HCU also held a flash protest against the violence last night.
It would not be wrong to say that students throughout the length and the breadth of the country have been coming out in large numbers to protest against the violence and the brutality that has been perpetrated by the police on the students of JMI and AMU as they protested against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
