Students and activists staged a protest in Delhi outside Uttar Pradesh Bhawan against the harassment and eviction of Kashmiri students in Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, Meerut and the slapping of sedition charges against 67 Kashmiri students. The protesters included activists, students from universities, mostly from JNU, and Kashmiri students.
“Kashmiri students were beaten up when they celebrated the victory of Pakistan cricket team, to which they retaliated. Following this, 67 Kashmiri students were suspended for 3 days from the University and were even asked to evacuate their hostels. This situation left them with no other option but to return to Kashmir for three days with their luggage. This is a shocking display of majoritarianism which seeks to turn even sports and culture into spaces of communal warmongering,” said Akbar from AISA.
Raising the issue of freedom of expression, a student member of Democratic Students Union (DSU), Umar Khalid, pointing towards Narendra Modi said that the person who was responsible for genocide and mass rapes in Gujarat is free to spread his agenda of hatred everywhere in the country. “The person, who should be behind the bars, is the PM [Prime Minister] candidate that shows that only the political class enjoys the freedom of expression in India.”
Another social activist and a student of JNU Shehla Rashid said, “It is sad that the university authorities as well as the police have internalised the Sanghi agenda and are dancing to the tune of the communal fascists in anticipation of the master-rioter Narendra Modi’s ascent to throne.”
“Our protest is not just against this particular incidence that happened in a Meerut university, but also against the AFSPA, the forced disappearance, the mass murder and mass rapes in Kashmir,” she added.
During the protest, a group of ‘saffron activists’ belonging to right wing groups clashed with the protesters. A person who claimed that he was a Member of Parliament hurled abusive language at the protestors as the saffron activists kept shouting Bharat Mata ki Jai (‘Victory to Mother india’). In response, however, the Kashmiri students raised pro-freedom slogans. Later the police pushed the protestors to vacate the venue.
Protesters chanting “Stop Fanning Majoritarian Jingoism” were seen with placards in their hands reading “Immediate roll back the expulsion”.
However, after the outrage in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India against the sedition charges, the Uttar Pradesh government has dropped the charges.
[KASHIF AHMED FARAZ is a New Delhi-based freelance journalist and student activist. He can be reached at [email protected]]