Hundreds of students from universities, members of political outfits and independent bodies across the Capital came together at Mandi House on Saturday to protest against a range of issues, including alleged violence perpetrated by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), assault on Dalits and missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmed.
They marched peacefully, while reciting slogans of ‘Azaadi’, to Parliament Street and gave a strong message that “violence in any form will not be accepted”.
The Citizens’ March, which was organised by Left-backed students’ organisations against the ABVP’s role in the North Campus violence on February 21 and 22, saw participation of people from all walks of life, demanding their right to free speech. Members of AISA, SFI, AISF, AIDSO, DUTA, and more took part in the march. Known faces from last year’s JNU protests, including Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid, were also present.
‘Right to study’
There were also students who were not affiliated to any political group, but marched to protect their right to make decisions for themselves. “Let us study. Let us learn. Don’t tell us which talk should be held on campus and which should not. All we want is the freedom to understand and freedom to learn,” said Sakhi Upadhyaya, a former student of Ramjas.
“I never understood why teachers were attacked. Some of our teachers cannot come to college because of the fear. I see the perpetrators of violence every day in the same space and the experience is harrowing,” said Abinash DC, a IInd-year student of Ramjas College’s English Department.
‘Dangerous trend’
Filmmaker and former professor of SRCC, Pankaj Butalia, who participated in the march shared Abinash’s view and said he feared where the country is going. “The most horrible thing is happening, that is, systematic scuffling of thought. It is one thing to counter something with debate, another to counter it with danda and that is what I oppose. What’s happening is the possibly the most dangerous trend in the country,” he said.
Along the way, a bunch of students who were playing ‘Holi’ with gulal shared an interesting reason. “Bubbles, colours, music instruments are our form of retaliation to stones and lathis,” said Avi Srivastava, a IInd Year Law student from OP Jindal University.
Platform for issues
The Citizens’ March also became a platform for many to raise issues such as assault on Dalits, the growing ‘saffronisation’ and the current political environment and an appeal to find missing student Najeeb Ahmed. Political figures, including CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, JD(U) leader K.C. Tyagi, CPI’s D. Raja and Swaraj India’s Yogendra Yadav, extended their solidarity to the students. Mr. Yechury assured the students of DU that the party will raise their issues in Parliament, “if allowed to speak”.
Najeeb Ahmed’s mother Fatima Nafees also addressed the gathering in an effort to bring the attention back to her son who has been missing for months. “Don’t play with the sentiments of the students, they can topple you. ABVP is the biggest anti-national organisation in the country,” she said as the crowd cheered.
Umar Khalid took a jibe at Union minister Arun Jaitley’s comment on ‘subversive elements in the university’ and said, “Yes we accept the charge because we want to subvert communalism and casteism.”
With a smile, he pointed to the crowd and told The Hindu , “This is the message to the ABVP and RSS that if they think that our universities are their shakhas, then they are wrong. Universities belong to all those people who have come here and they represent the aspirations of the DU students.”
