The students of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) on Sunday disassociate themselves from the violence that has erupted in the area surrounding the university. The university administration has stood by them by having issued a statement saying none of the students of JMI was involved in the destruction of public property.
In a statement issued by the JMI students’ community, the students said, “We have time and again maintained that our protests are peaceful and non-violent. We stand by this approach and condemn any party involved in the violence. We have maintained calm even when students have been lathi-charged and women protesters have been badly beaten up.”
It added that violence by certain elements is an attempt to vilify and discredit genuine protests. University officials, commenting on the violent incidents, clarified that it happened during the protest organised by the people of the nearby areas and not by JMI students. “The university has already declared winter vacation and postponed semester exam after the December 13 incident. A large number of students staying in hostels have already left and V-C Najma Akhtar has appealed to the students to maintain peace.”
The university had postponed examinations after students clashed with police during a call given by students to march to Jantar Mantar to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Bill. The Jamia Teachers’ Association also condemned the violence and appealed to students, if any, “to keep away from direction-less protest lead by local political leaders”.
JMI Chief Proctor Waseem Ahmed Khan claimed that the police entered the campus forcibly without any permission and beat up staff members and students who were forced to leave the campus. Students claimed that they were trapped inside the library into which the police fired tear gas shells. JMI V-C also condemned the action by the police.
Published - December 16, 2019 01:40 am IST