Masihuzzaman Ansari
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 22—When Prime Minister Narendra Modi was addressing his party workers from Ramlila Maidan overlooking the majestic Red Fort and urged his supporters to “stand up and respect the Parliament for passing the citizenship law”, thus indirectly asking people to confront those opposing the law, the protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act at Jamia Millia Islamia was continuing with people from different faiths and background, men and women, having assembled there. Jamia students have been agitating against the new law since December 13, saying that the new law was passed in contravention of the provisions of the Constitution. Protesters said that they were protesting to defend the Constitution.
Many of the students who have FIRs lodged against them for their alleged involvement in December 15 incidents at the campus, addressed the protesters today. One of them-Asif Tanha from Students Islamic Organisation (SIO)-said that apart from protecting the Constitution, their fight was also a fight for protecting Muslim identity. He said that when the police entered the campus and brutally assaulted the students, they were not only obeying the government orders to suppress the protest but it also exhibited their hidden hatred against Muslims.
He alleged that the police particularly targeted the burqa-clad and scarf=wearing girl students by mentioning their religion. They called them “katua”, “mulla”-insulting words used by some people for Muslims in Delhi-while attacking them.
National Students Union of India (NSUI) representative Chandan Yadav, who is also named in the police FIR, said that the BJP government at the Centre was weakening the Constitution by making changes in the provisions that guaranteed fundamental human rights to the citizens.
As large number of women had also joined the protest at Jamia, Leftist activist Fauzia Farooq appreciated the women coming out of their houses and joining the protest movement to save Constitution, democracy and secularism. She said that the government had become fascist and it was the duty of everybody to oppose its anti-people and anti-Constitution policies.
Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC), which is leading the protest movement in the absence of a students union in the university, has also set up a “legal helpdesk” with scores of advocates who are alumni of the university. Advocate Sadiq Noor of JCC told mediapersons that they are collecting complaints from students who were injured in police crackdown on the university and would file a collective complaint after receiving complaints from all those injured in police action. Noor said that he had till Sunday evening received more than 100 complaints.
Protesters were being served water, tea, coffee and food packets by people from nearby areas. In the absence of police, it were the protesters who managed traffic on the road to ensure that commuters did not face any problem due to traffic jam.
Throughout the day, people were coming in droves to take part in the protest.
