Hundreds of students from several institutes and communities walked to protest the police crackdown in Uttar Pradesh, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens, in response to a call given by a Muslim students’ group.
At the start of the rally was a model of a detention camp that had three caged inmates, depicting the haplessness of those stripped of their citizenship.
The protesters carried placards that suggested what life would be like inside a detention camp.
One carried a placard that read: “Bina chikitshay mrityur apekhay (awaiting death in the absence of treatment)”. Another held a placard that said: “Paribar chhara nishangota (loneliness minus the family)”.
Among those who walked from College Square to Rani Rashmoni Avenue were students from Jadavpur University and colleges in North 24-Parganas, as well as lawyers of the high court. The protesters carried posters that called for an end to police atrocities.
A few posters read: “Hindu Muslim Bhai Bhai, NRC CAA bye bye”.
Joyoshree, a student of IT at the College of Leather Technology, said: “The Modi government is out to destroy the secular ethos of the Constitution. India has always believed in the spirit of Atithi Devo Bhava (The guest is equivalent to God). But this government is striking at the root of that spirit.”
A placard Adil Sheikh was holding had “Yogi police lack sense, they are muzzling the voice once you dare protest, Yogi’s state is burning and they call themselves patriots,” written on it.
The undergraduate student told Metro: “The Yogi Adityanath government is shooting at protesters. In a similar fashion the Pakistani army used to kill students during the Bangladesh liberation war. We have to resist this cold-blooded murder.”
A student walking next to him carried a poster that had “We are not scared of you Yogi Adityanath, we don’t accept the division of the country, we have shed blood to build this country, we will again rise in protest” written on it.
Abir Sarkar, who has done his MSc from Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow, joined the rally because he thinks the Adityanath government of Uttar Pradesh was trying to exterminate students.
“Yogi Adityanath has simply let the police loose on the students from the minority community who were taking part in legitimate protests. So, in today’s protest we decided to highlight the topic along with other issues,” said Abir.
Niayazuddin Hussainy, a doctor at Diamond Harbour District Hospital, referred to a message on a poster — “Don’t be violent, Don’t be silent” — as the tagline of the protest.
“It means we will raise our voice against unconstitutional acts through constitutional and democratic ways,” said Niayazuddin, who is pursuing a course in radiology at RG Kar hospital.
At the end of the walk the organisers and the participants read out from the Preamble to the Constitution: “We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign socialist democratic secular republic....”
