IISc students extend support to Jamia students, protest CAA
Bengaluru: A group of students at the prestigious Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on Monday extended their solidarity to the Jamia Millia Islamia students in Delhi and protested the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
One of the multi-lingual placards carried by the students read ‘students of Jamia Millia Islamia we are with you’.
Other slogans included ‘How dare you say we are not Indian’, ‘No place for Islamophobia’ and ‘No to National Register of Citizens (NRC) no to CAA’.
‘Why the hate for Tamils’ said a placard questioning the exclusion of Tamil Hindus from the CAA privilege which accords citizenship to persecuted Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Parsis from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, excluding Muslims.
Muslim minority sects such as Shias, Ahmadiyas and others are also persecuted in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The IISc students also read the preamble of the Constitution of India aloud in unison, “We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into sovereign socialist secular democratic republic.”
Two videos of the protesting IISc students went viral.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the police attack on Jamia students, the premier Indian Institute of Management – Bangalore (IIM-B) wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“We call upon you to not trample the democratic rights of citizens to peacefully protest an unjust law,” said a joint IIM-B students and faculty letter.
The management school asserted non-violent civil disobedience is at the heart of Indian republic’s founding and urged Modi to ensure that the students are allowed to protest peacefully.
The letter stood in solidarity with the students across the country protesting CAA, and denounced violence even from the custodians of the state, wielding immense power and responsibility.
According to an IIM-B source, the students avoid voicing their views or taking a stand on almost every issue directly as it will have a negative bearing on their campus placement prospects.
“Most students do not dare to share protest information even on the social media for fear of facing a backlash from the school’s management,” the source told IANS.
The open IIM-B letter addressed to Modi was drafted by associate professor Deepak Malghan and others on behalf of the institute as a whole.
The Karnataka Congress party also came out in support of the Jamia students, tweeting, “We condemn Delhi police action who forcefully entered Jamia university campus, blocked gates and fired tear gas at students.”
The Congress party criticised the police for exceeded their jurisdiction and defying all norms. It shared the photograph of a student being beaten by the police even as some girl students attempt to shield him from the police.
By IANS
