Pitching for secularism

Syed Nooruzzaman

Jamia Millia Islamia University students University students these days, instead of being in classrooms, are on the streets and roads, either protesting against police highhandedness to stifle the voice of dissent or raising their objection against the government's disguised move to alter the Constitution's secular character which may have direct bearing on their future in various ways.
The students have, in fact, taken up crucial causes --- the demand for a repeal of the Citizenship Amendment Act, getting scrapped the dangerous idea of a National Register of Citizens and abandoning the move for the National Population Register with a view to achieving a hidden and divisive objective. They, as also others, have pointed out that these avoidable ideas are inconceivable in a country where the poor, the undocumented Indians, constitute the majority of the population.

The credit, of course, goes to New Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia students for what today has become a country-wide powerful movement to challenge the government's divisive and destructive agenda on the pretext of weeding out some "ghuspaithias" or infiltrators from across the border. The Jamia students had to suffer a lot for their noble drive but their morale remained unaffected. It remains so even now as they have found that they have any number of supporters and sympathisers for their movement.

The Jamia students had not indulged in something which was indefensible. They were given left and right by the police because they had raised their voice against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), considered discriminatory against Muslims.

Their merciless beating up by the police on December 15, 2019, was widely condemned by the student community all over the country and those studying in many premier universities abroad. Among the students of other universities who held demonstrations to express their sympathy with the Jamia students and their causes were those studying in Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University, West Bengal's Jadavpur University and many other prestigious higher education centres.

A student being dragged by police during the protest The charges levelled against them that they had resorted to violence and arson could not be substantiated. Yet they suffered untold miseries at the hands of the police. Even those in the main library building, busy with reading books, were not spared. The police first burst tear gas shells and then rained lathis on innocent students to force them to keep quiet over the move to change the basic and secular character of the Constitution.
The Jamia authorities claimed that the police personnel entered the university campus without their permission, which led to condemnation from different sections of society. The police did not spare even those in the campus mosque, including the imam, the man who leads daily prayers.

The Jamia administration described the police action as "unprovoked targeting of innocent students". There was no provocation for the police to treat the students like criminals. The students denied the charge that they indulged in the burning of buses and other vehicles.

Their denial was supported by the videos relating to what happened at Jamia on that fateful December 15 evening. Yet over 125 students were arrested.

However, the police brutality could not dampen the spirit of the students, who continue to hold their peaceful protest outside the Jamia campus with the declaration that their anti-CAA and anti-NRC drive will go on till the discriminatory law is repealed and the fanciful NRC idea is dumped in the dustbin of history.

Najma Akhtar Surprisingly, no FIR was lodged in this connection against any police official till January 15 though the police action occurred o n m a r c h i n g s t u d e n t s and those at the campus on D e c e m b e r 15 evening. On January 13 when over 100 s t u d e n t s g h e r a o e d the office of V i c e - Chancellor N a j m a Akhtar, she assured them that the university administration would approach the court to get an FIR registered against the police "brutality". But so far nothing has happened.

Aishe Ghosh Interestingly, while the police lathi-charged harmless students at Jamia without bothering about getting the university authorities' permission, it kept waiting at JNU for the Vice-Chancellor's permission to take action against the goons, believed to be Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Prishad (ABVP) members, who attacked students with iron rods, lathis and other such weapons on January 5. JNU Students Union President (JNUSU) Aishe Ghosh alleged, "Masked men repeatedly hammered my head with iron rods. There are videos of this." She accused the university administration of colluding with the police in what happened at Sabarmati Hostel and elsewhere.

Satish Chandra Yadav JNUSU general secretary Satish Chandra Yadav claimed that all this happened "because of a nexus between the police and the ABVP". He further stated, "The police held a press conference hurriedly and named leftist organisations , but not once did they take the name of the ABVP. They have based their findings on pictures that have gone viral, but what is the authenticity of these images? And why have pictures showing ABVP activists not been considered?"

M Jagadesh Kumar It is regrettable that JNU ViceChancellor M Jagadesh Kumar did not play a healthy role in the sad happenings at the prestigious university's campus. He was alleged to have displayed a rigid attitude and did not bother about implementing a Union HRD Ministry's proposal to settle the fee hike issue amicably. That is why even a leader like Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, a former HRD Minister, wanted Kumar to be removed as JNU Vice-Chancellor.
JNU is not an ordinary university. The violence on the JNU campus, obviously owing to the failure of the university administration and the alleged complicity of the police, evoked protests from students at many universities across the country. The JNU attacks on students came soon after the police brutality in the case of Jamia students. And, interestingly, both incidents had their echoes on university campuses throughout the country. The result is that the students today are on a war path, even at the cost of their academic future.

JNU is not an ordinary university. The violence on the JNU campus, obviously owing to the failure of the university administration and the alleged complicity of the police evoked protests from students at many universities across the country.

The Jamia students, encouraged by support from their fraternity at many other universities in different parts of the country, continue their protest against the CAA-NRC with the same vigour and enthusiasm as could be seen initially to force the government to accept their genuine demands.

What happened at Jamia without any planning has not remained confined to this university alone. It has given birth to a major movement that goes on for protecting the secular character of the Constitution.

Thus, what initially appeared to be an issue involving the Muslims and the government has taken the shape of a country-wide movement with the Central government and the BJP being on the one side and the rest of the country on the other. This is not good for the country, but who bothers about the nation when intentions are not pious?

The story takes one to Southeast Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, which has somehow turned out to be a bigger symbol of antigovernment protests but mainly because of Jamia. Had there been no Jamia, there would have been no Shaheen Bagh. And any movement involving students has rarely been unsuccessful.



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The students have, in fact, taken up crucial causes --- the demand for a repeal of the Citizenship Amendment Act, getting scrapped the dangerous idea of a National Register of Citizens and abandoning the move for the National Population Register with a view to achieving a hidden and divisive objective. They, as also others, have pointed out that these avoidable ideas are inconceivable in a country where the poor, the undocumented Indians, constitute the majority of the population. The credit, of course, goes to New Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia students for what today has become a country-wide powerful movement to challenge the government's divisive and destructive agenda on the pretext of weeding out some "ghuspaithias" or infiltrators from across the border. The Jamia students had to suffer a lot for their noble drive but their morale remained unaffected. It remains so even now as they have found that they have any number of supporters and sympathisers for their movement. The Jamia students had not indulged in something which was indefensible. They were given left and right by the police because they had raised their voice against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), considered discriminatory against Muslims. Their merciless beating up by the police on December 15, 2019, was widely condemned by the student community all over the country and those studying in many premier universities abroad. Among the students of other universities who held demonstrations to express their sympathy with the Jamia students and their causes were those studying in Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University, West Bengal's Jadavpur University and many other prestigious higher education centres. The Jamia students had not indulged in something which was indefensible. They were given left and right by the police because they had raised their voice against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), considered discriminatory against Muslims. A student being dragged by police during the protest The charges levelled against them that they had resorted to violence and arson could not be substantiated. Yet they suffered untold miseries at the hands of the police. Even those in the main library building, busy with reading books, were not spared. The police first burst tear gas shells and then rained lathis on innocent students to force them to keep quiet over the move to change the basic and secular character of the Constitution. The Jamia authorities claimed that the police personnel entered the university campus without their permission, which led to condemnation from different sections of society. The police did not spare even those in the campus mosque, including the imam, the man who leads daily prayers. The Jamia administration described the police action as "unprovoked targeting of innocent students". There was no provocation for the police to treat the students like criminals. The students denied the charge that they indulged in the burning of buses and other vehicles. Their denial was supported by the videos relating to what happened at Jamia on that fateful December 15 evening. Yet over 125 students were arrested. However, the police brutality could not dampen the spirit of the students, who continue to hold their peaceful protest outside the Jamia campus with the declaration that their anti-CAA and anti-NRC drive will go on till the discriminatory law is repealed and the fanciful NRC idea is dumped in the dustbin of history. Najma Akhtar Surprisingly, no FIR was lodged in this connection against any police official till January 15 though the police action occurred o n m a r c h i n g s t u d e n t s and those at the campus on D e c e m b e r 15 evening. On January 13 when over 100 s t u d e n t s g h e r a o e d the office of V i c e - Chancellor N a j m a Akhtar, she assured them that the university administration would approach the court to get an FIR registered against the police "brutality". But so far nothing has happened. Aishe Ghosh Interestingly, while the police lathi-charged harmless students at Jamia without bothering about getting the university authorities' permission, it kept waiting at JNU for the Vice-Chancellor's permission to take action against the goons, believed to be Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Prishad (ABVP) members, who attacked students with iron rods, lathis and other such weapons on January 5. JNU Students Union President (JNUSU) Aishe Ghosh alleged, "Masked men repeatedly hammered my head with iron rods. There are videos of this." She accused the university administration of colluding with the police in what happened at Sabarmati Hostel and elsewhere. Satish Chandra Yadav JNUSU general secretary Satish Chandra Yadav claimed that all this happened "because of a nexus between the police and the ABVP". He further stated, "The police held a press conference hurriedly and named leftist organisations , but not once did they take the name of the ABVP. They have based their findings on pictures that have gone viral, but what is the authenticity of these images? And why have pictures showing ABVP activists not been considered?" M Jagadesh Kumar It is regrettable that JNU ViceChancellor M Jagadesh Kumar did not play a healthy role in the sad happenings at the prestigious university's campus. He was alleged to have displayed a rigid attitude and did not bother about implementing a Union HRD Ministry's proposal to settle the fee hike issue amicably. That is why even a leader like Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, a former HRD Minister, wanted Kumar to be removed as JNU Vice-Chancellor. JNU is not an ordinary university. The violence on the JNU campus, obviously owing to the failure of the university administration and the alleged complicity of the police, evoked protests from students at many universities across the country. The JNU attacks on students came soon after the police brutality in the case of Jamia students. And, interestingly, both incidents had their echoes on university campuses throughout the country. The result is that the students today are on a war path, even at the cost of their academic future. JNU is not an ordinary university. The violence on the JNU campus, obviously owing to the failure of the university administration and the alleged complicity of the police evoked protests from students at many universities across the country. The Jamia students, encouraged by support from their fraternity at many other universities in different parts of the country, continue their protest against the CAA-NRC with the same vigour and enthusiasm as could be seen initially to force the government to accept their genuine demands. What happened at Jamia without any planning has not remained confined to this university alone. It has given birth to a major movement that goes on for protecting the secular character of the Constitution. Thus, what initially appeared to be an issue involving the Muslims and the government has taken the shape of a country-wide movement with the Central government and the BJP being on the one side and the rest of the country on the other. This is not good for the country, but who bothers about the nation when intentions are not pious? The story takes one to Southeast Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, which has somehow turned out to be a bigger symbol of antigovernment protests but mainly because of Jamia. Had there been no Jamia, there would have been no Shaheen Bagh. And any movement involving students has rarely been unsuccessful.