Protesting the “continuing siege of Kashmir”, several student groups, including AISA, Pinjra Tod and DU held a demonstration at the Arts Faculty gate on Thursday.
With slogans demanding return of Article 370 and calls for “Azadi”, protesters denounced the communication blockade in the area. They demanded release of political prisoners and called for right of Kashmiris to self-determination.
Sabika Sayed, a third-year student, said it was “stupid” that the partial lifting of the communication blockade was being viewed as some huge achievement, when it is such a basic thing.
Speakers of the Pinjra Tod collective spoke of Kashmir’s political history and said that while “democracy in India has turned into a farce now, democracy in Kashmir has always been a farce”. They called for a “socialist revolution” to address the inherent intertwined political and economic questions involved.
Members of Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression, which had recently visited parts of Kashmir, also spoke of the conditions in the area.
Nandini Rao, one of the members, said that almost no one was going to schools or colleges in the area even though they were running. “Their worry is that if they go to school then they won’t be able to return home,” she said.
