Students Launch Immediate Protest, Citizenship Law Standoff Leaves India Searching For Its Soul

In what turned out to be a dramatic night after a day of unprecedented violence in India¡¯s national capital, several hundred students reached the old Delhi Police headquarters at ITO to participate in an ¡°emergency protest¡± against the police action at Jamia Millia Islamia.

The protesters raised anti-police slogans and demanded action against officials who entered the university. Students from Jamia, Ambedkar University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University, along with dozens of concerned citizens and political representatives joined the protest called by the JNU Students' Union.

Protesters blocked all roads leading to the police headquarters. Barricades were put up as the mass of protesters swelled.

A protesting Jawaharlal Nehru University student was quoted as saying by news agency PTI: "We have come here to support the protesting students who have been attacked by the police. We want the police to leave the campus as soon as possible".

Nearly 60 people, including students, policemen and firemen were injured as violence erupted during a protest by Jamia students against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

"My batchmate Utkarsh Roshan has been detained by Delhi Police for no reason. We have no idea where he is. We have calling him since evening but not getting any response from his side. Several students have been stuck inside library and reading room. They are scared and hiding inside," said Bhumika Saraswati, MA Convergent student at Jamia Millia Islamia.

And YOU! You crying over the injustice to a bus put on fire but can¡¯t feel anything for thousands of students beaten up in our beloved country, well, you just eat a bus full of shit! pic.twitter.com/0jJFLCVGaR

¡ª Neeraj Ghaywan (@ghaywan) December 16, 2019

She claimed that after entering the varsity campus, Delhi Police detained students who were not even involved in the violence.

Another student said that the protestors have been mobilised through a message to come out in support of the students of Jamia, who have alleged high-handedness against the police.

Amid conflicting reports, facts remain hazy but the amount of violence displayed on the national scale, from the northeastern states to the streets of the national capital, has left India searching for its soul.

A country built on Gandhian principles of 'satya, dharma and ahimsa' is using arson and violence to exert its will.

Thirty-five students released from Kalkaji PS, 15 from New Friends Colony: Police

¡ª Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 15, 2019

A university is a sacred space and the manner in which things have played out in the premises of Jamia Millia University, coupled with the vehicles and public property that were set ablaze, is unbecoming of a nation that prides itself for its democratic norms and constitutional guarantees.

We tend to discredit and delegitimise protests by using brutal force but in doing so we often forget that the government is of the people, for the people and by the people. When a protest breaks out, it is the people who come down to the streets and exhibit their dissent. In a thriving democracy that has granted this freedom to its citizens, it is outright shameful that such use of force was used upon students and protestors.

Lawyers ask SC to take cognizance of incidents of attack on students protesting against amended Citizenship Act

¡ª Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 16, 2019

The job of the police is to control the situation, not to attack the students and protesting public. At the same time, the toughest battle India ever fought was one to secure its freedom, and this battle was built on the principle of non-violence. Satyagraha and civil disobedience are the Indian methods and demonstrators must be mindful of this even as they exert their dissent in full vigour.

Something needs to be done, and it needs to be done immediately.