Citizenship Law: Jamia Millia Students Continue Protest Even After Facing Lathi-Charge, Teargas Shells

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Mumtaz Alam | India Tomorrow

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 14— Day after several students of Jamia Millia Islamia were injured in police lathi-charge and teargas firing, hundreds of students continued their protest against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act on Saturday, though from behind the locked gates of the university. On Friday, they had tried to march towards the Parliament to protest against the law when Delhi police resorted to lathi-charge and fired teargas shells to disperse them. Today was the third day of the protest of Jamia students against the law.

Meanwhile, following the police action and in view of the continuous student protest, the university administration on Saturday announced winter vacation postponing all examinations. The university will remain closed till January 5.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 was passed by Lok Sabha on Monday and Rajya Sabha next day. On Wednesday, the President of India Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the bill and it became law. The law is being opposed on the ground that it will grant citizenship to illegal migrants belonging to six communities except Muslims from India’s three neighbouring countries – Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

India Tomorrow talked to several protesting students of Jamia Millia through the steel grills as press was not allowed inside the campus. They said they will continue the protest until the controversial law is withdrawn or amended to include Muslims.

“We are opposing this law because it is against Constitution”
“We are protesting against Citizenship Amendment Act because it is against our Constitution. The founding fathers of the Constitution had made a secular state. This Act is violating Article 14,” said Faisal Manzar who is doing B.Tech. in Civil Engineering from Jamia.

“If NRC comes after this Act, then Muslims in India would be rendered second class citizen while six other communities would become citizen. We faced lathi-charge and tear gas shells yesterday and I also sustained wounds in my hand. We want to keep the Constitution the way it was framed by its founding fathers. We support BR Ambedkar, not Savarkar,” said Manzar.


Students protesting under the shadow of Mirza Ghalib’s statue at Jamia Millia Islamia on Dec. 14, 2019 (Photo – India Tomorrow)

Atif, also an engineering student, said: “The law is against the Constitution and its provision for equality. Constitution does not allow discrimination on the basis of religion. In this bill, they have excluded Muslims and included six other religious communities. President of India should have spoken against this law but he has signed it. Supreme Court should speak but it is also silent. The United Nations has denounced the law but I don’t think it will have any impact.”

He informed that students from all communities are participating in this protest at Jamia.

Talking to India Tomorrow, law student Shashank Shekhar asked: “What was the need for this bill? If you see the NRC and CAB together, then you will fully understand the plan of Amit Shah. They are damaging the secular character of the country.”

Giving details about the Friday protest during several students were injured, Shekhar said: “Students had planned to hold a peaceful march to the Parliament. They were standing on the road and wanted to proceed. Police used force, resorted to lathi-charge and fired teargas shells and victimized the students. Many students got fractures in hands and legs. Many girls got wounds in heads. There were no women cops. Male cops were beating the girl students. What can be worse than this? This government is anti-secular and anti-Muslim.”

“None Can Divide Hindus and Muslims”
Arafat Ahmed, a student of Diploma in Engineering, said that around 40 students were detained by the police on Friday but all of them were later released. He said that despite detention and police action “Our protest continued whole night. It is going on right and will continue until we get justice.”

“This government will have to put Muslims and Hindus together. They have divided them. No one can keep them separated. As long as Hindus are there, there will be Muslims. As long as Muslims are there, there will be Hindus. Even in his speech, Amit Shah once mistakenly included Muslims in the list of six communities. It is clear that the two communities cannot be separated,” said Ahmed.

Jamia Millia has no students union, still hundreds have been protesting against the controversial law for the last three days.


Heavy deployment of police force a few hundred meters from Jamia Millia Islamia on Dec. 14, 2019 (Photo – India Tomorrow)

When asked on whose call they gathered when there is no Students Union at Jamia Millia, Faisal Manzar said: “We do not need any leader for this. We have gathered at the call of our conscience. It is a fight to protect Constitution. We do not need any leader for this. We call a spade a spade and will continue to do so, Jamia teaches us this. Jamia was founded on protest and we will continue that heritage.”

“Will continue protest until this law is withdrawn or amended”
Atif said that after this law, all will be saved in NRC process except Muslims and they would be put in detention centres like in China.

“We will continue our protest until they withdraw the new citizenship law or include Muslims also in it. During floods, people lose documents. But all such people will be saved by this law except Muslims. How will they prove their citizenship? Then the government will put them in concentration camps like China is doing,” he said.

Arafat Ahmed added: “This is going to be a long fight. We cannot win it by facing lathi-charge. We will have to change our strategy. Today we are protesting inside our gates. We are not going outside.”

While students were protesting on Saturday there were no Delhi police personnel within a few hundred meters from the protest site. Heavy deployment of police force was made about 500 meters away. This was the scene day after the police charged baton and fired teargas shells on the students.

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