Students and citizens staged protests in Hyderabad on Monday condemning the violent attack on students and faculty of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, on Sunday.
Condemning the violence, University of Hyderabad (UoH) students staged a rally inside the campus on Sunday night itself. Around the same time, a few people gathered at Ambedkar statue on Tank Bund to condemn the attack.
While people continued to express their views on social media platforms, the spate of protests in the city resumed from Monday afternoon. Students from Osmania University (OU), English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), degree and engineering students, Women Activists’ JAC members and faculty members gathered at OU’s Arts College from 12 p.m to 5 p.m to participate in the protest.
It was followed by protests at Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) and at Darul Shifa Grounds, Charminar.
Human chain
Holding placards with statements against Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), “fascism”, the protesters at OU called for an end to attacks on university students. They formed a human chain and raised slogans condemning the attack.
Later they held a march till Law College, where they staged a sit-in. Addressing the gathering, a student from EFLU said universities and students were coming under attack as educational institutions teach students how to question, criticise discrimination and injustice. The more the number of educated people, more questions will be raised. Student who did not want to be identified said that the preamble to the Constitution has to be upheld.
A Vijay, State vice-president of Progressive Democratic Students Union (PDSU), said that Left-wing students were attacked as they have been consistently winning elections in JNU and the violence might deter them from participating in elections. Besides, he said student groups were making people aware about the effects of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Voice of students
Former president of MANUU Students Union Ataullah Niazi demanded action against perpetrators of violence on the JNU campus. He said that the government wanted to suppress the voice of students against CAA, NRC, National Population Register (NPR) and fee hike.
At Darul Shifa grounds, though it was a flash protest, more than 400 people, including madrasa students and people from across the city, participated in it. Calls were given to gather in other parts of the city.
Kancha Illaiah condemns
Writer and academic Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd strongly condemned the attack on students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University of Delhi on Sunday, and said this is the first time in history of higher education after Independence that masked forces with lethal weapons entered the campus and beat up teachers and students.
Alleging collusion by university administration, he said this signals a new level of disturbing trend of organised violence with support from authorities.
It is ‘un-Indian’ for a democratically elected national party to encourage its student wing to fight its rivals through such attacks, instead of intellectual means, Mr. Ilaiah said in a press note released here on Monday.
ABVP protest at OU
Members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged protest at Osmania University’s Arts College on Monday afternoon demanding peaceful academic environment at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) be restored.
ABVP State leader M. Raghavender alleged that members of the left wing affiliated student groups attacked ABVP members at JNU and condemned the violence.
He said that the left wing student groups disturbed academic environment at the premier university in the past two months, and obstructed students from registering for new semester.
