Students across the country agitate in support of Jamia, AMU

NEW DELHI: Students from university and college campuses across the country protested or boycotted exams and classes on December 16, in support of Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi and the Aligarh Muslim University, in Uttar Pradesh.

On both campuses, students protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, faced police batons and tear gas on December 15. The protests outside Jamia was joined by outsiders, some of whom grew violent. According to reports, three buses were burnt. However, Jamia Millia Islamia students have denied being involved in the violence but faced the worst of the Delhi Police’s lathi-charge that followed. Protesting students in Delhi and Aligarh took photos and videos of police entering their campuses and shooting tear gas indoors, of students locked up in bathrooms and in Jamia, the library.

But students aren’t having it. On the night of December 15 itself, and despite the Delhi Metror Rail Corporation’s best efforts to halt their movements by closing stations, hundreds of students and teachers landed up at the Police Headquarters at ITO to protest.

On Monday, students across campuses, including the usually quiescent Indian Institutes of Technology, boycotted exams, planned protest gatherings and marches. They protested against the CAA, passed by the Narendra Modi government last week, and in support of their counterparts in the embattled campuses.

Exam and class boycott

The students of Maulana Azad National Urdu University in Hyderabad, Telangana, have boycotted their exams and those of Tata Institute of Social Science in Mumbai had announced they would not attend classes or do fieldwork on Monday. The TISS students even marched to Ambedkar Garden in Chembur and were joined by teachers.

TISS students gathered to March on Dec 16 (Source: Fahad Ahmad)

The Students’ Union of Maulana Azad National Urdu University’s note to the controller, examinations said: "Due to the protest by the MNUU students against Delhi Police regarding the attack on JMI as well as AMU students, the students of MSNUU are boycotting the exam. Therefore, we request you to postpone the exam. We shall attend the exam on any other date as decided by you." Their exams were to being on Monday.

A section of students from Delhi University too announced a “university lockdown” and “exam boycott” in support of Jamia. On Sunday night, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation had shut down stations all around DU in an attempt to keep students from reaching the Delhi Police headquarters to protest. By noon, Delhi Police had entered the DU campus as well and at least one protester, a student of Ramjas College, had already been detained.

Police at Delhi University on Dec 16 (Source: AISA)

Students of Central University of Kerala at Kasargod boycotted classes, as did their counterparts at Pondicherry University. Students of Pondicherry University marched on campus. They had protested on the night of December 15 as well.

Protest at Pondicherry University (Source: Twitter/ArjunC

Protest gatherings

A number of student organisations and political parties announced a “peaceful protest to show solidarity with students at Jamia, AMU” at the main gate of Mumbai University’s Kalina Campus at 4 pm on Monday. “Let’s united to fight fascism,” said the announcements.

Students from Jadavpur University decided to gather at the Jadavpur University playground at 1.30 pm on Monday.

Jadavpur University's poster

Students of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) came out on the streets to protest. Students of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, had also called for a protest at 10 am in front of the JN Tata Statue outside the institution’s main building.

IISc poster

Students of institutions in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar were invited to join a protest at 4 pm outside Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. They have been asked to gather at the "old campus footpath". At least two batches of students have announced protests in Bangalore on December 16. One, a group of youths based in the city and the other is the Al lndia Democratic Students' Organisation, or AIDSO. The first has even called for the resignation of home minister, Amit Shah. He was instrumental in the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and his ministry also oversees the Delhi Police. Both groups will protest at Town Hall between 4 pm and 4.30 pm.

Poster for Bangalore protest (Source: Student)There are protests in various cities of Tamil Nadu as well. On Monday morning, students of Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development in Chennai, and Mohamed Sathak College of Arts and Science in Sholinganallur near Chennai, protested. There were protest demonstrations at Loyola and New Colleges of Chennai as well.

At Loyola and New (Source: Twitter/ Birajanandan Mishra)The Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle of Madras University has announced a protest for Monday afternoon.

Madras University protest poster (Source: Twitter)

Students and alumni of the Department of Sociology at the Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University, issued a statement in support of the protests and, although belatedly, a section of students at Osmania University, Hyderabad, announced a protest gathering at the university's Art College at 4 pm. Similarly, a section of students at Banaras Hindu University protested.

BHU Protest (Source: Twitter/Priyesh Pandey)

Students of Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication in Bhopal, too, protested. The following photos shows a student with a placard saying: "We are finished as a country".nluo

Students in Bhopal. (Source: Twitter/ Garvit Garg)

The IITs, IIMs, NLUs

The events of December 15 have incited protest even at the Indian Institutes of Technology, premier engineering institutions that, till a few years ago, stay away from such protests. The Students Collective of the IIT-Madras announced a rally and protest gathering at Gajendra Circle on campus. A letter of protest originating from IIM-Ahmedabad had around a 1,000 signatures from students and teachers from across the IIM and business school system. The document, finally released to the public in the evening, ran into 35 pages.

A hurriedly-planned protest at II Delhi drew so many people, it surprised even some participants. Photographs from the protest were posted online with the title: "IIT Delhi condemns police brutality on students. Students march in solidarity with Jamia and AMU."

Students from other premier government and private educational institutes have joined to express their dissent. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, and Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore issued statements. Students from Azim Premji University, Jindal Global University, and Jindal Global Law School have also followed suit. The student bodies of India's premier law colleges - National University of Advanced Legal Studies, National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai (MNLU), Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU), National Law University Odisha (NLUO) and National University of Study and Research in Law (NUSRL) - extended unconditional support to the students of AMU and JMI.

Students of IIT Bombay expressed solidarity with Jamia and AMU.

A section of students in IIT Kanpur announced a “campus-wide” march on Tuesday, December 17.

IIT Kanpur posterThe social media post along with the poster said:

“They struck down the students' retaliation at Jadavpur University. We didn't respond. They hiked the M.tech fee, We didn't respond. Manhandled the student protest[ers] at JNU, we didn't respond. And now its JMI and AMU. Our commitment towards the students' community is under huge jeopardy if we don't respond now. Therefore let's come together for a campus wide march in solidarity with students of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University."

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