Writing On The Wall: Graffiti Gets A Rebellious Edge In Jamia After Police Atrocities
The streets surrounding India¡¯s reputed Jamia Millia Islamia on Monday morning were full of extremes -- shattered glasses, bloodstains, remnants of tear gas shells, broken batons that the police used to clamp down on demonstrators.
The streets surrounding India¡¯s reputed Jamia Millia Islamia on Monday morning were full of extremes -- shattered glasses, bloodstains, remnants of tear gas shells, broken batons that the police used to clamp down on demonstrators.
But a closer look reveals, surroundings teeming with hope, the signs of a vibrant life, well-lived, well-read and well-versed with the law of the land. Orchestrated against the backdrop of the much contentious Citizenship Amendment Law are images and graffiti painted on walls and pavements, nooks and corners of the varsity that showed the signs of a protest, that was stopped abruptly, and with violence.
These images that then surface will send shivers down one¡¯s spine as they resemble the scene of a shootout or terror clampdown rather than that of controlling some agitating students and protesters against a law that has already attracted the ire of at least 500 prominent personalities from India, apart from being shunned by at least five states, and leading up to the carnage that is currently being seen in the northeast and the rest of India.
¡ª Neyaz Farooquee (@nafsmanzer) December 16, 2019
¡ª Neyaz Farooquee (@nafsmanzer) December 16, 2019
Students tried to block the gate with desks but it went in vain. They threw shells from the other window pic.twitter.com/YlgE8sTps9
¡ª Neyaz Farooquee (@nafsmanzer) December 16, 2019
Jamia thread. It's here where the most students were detained from; they were studying, away from protests pic.twitter.com/1g4wK4K1HQ
¡ª Neyaz Farooquee (@nafsmanzer) December 16, 2019
Shattered glasses and broken chairs clamped against the walls with bloodstains in all shapes and sizes live to narrate the horrors that students witnessed on the previous day.
¡°Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.¡±
This graffiti expresses the popular opinion among the students, that the ruling regime, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi¡¯s Bharatiya Janata Party seeks refuge in the Indian Constitution to justify its actions, but fails to honour the true spirit of democracy and free speech, which the Prime Minister's 'holy book' entails. Some of the artwork takes a direct dig at the Prime Minister, who infamously announced in the United States, "Sab changaa si!"- everything is ok - in India.
In response, the disgruntled students put up a graffiti of Modi, dressed in a suit, embellished with the Nazi swastika. But that¡¯s not all. As one walks a few steps ahead, more provocative images come to the fore.
Jamia graffiti pic.twitter.com/nwI6mK97I2
¡ª Saba Naqvi (@_sabanaqvi) December 16, 2019
It's more truth speaks walls Newspaper...#proudofyouravish pic.twitter.com/01PzC2Qz1m
¡ª §Ô?? z????§Ô (@rao_juber) December 16, 2019
On the walls in #Jamia... pic.twitter.com/RqVGnW0Efe
¡ª Saba Naqvi (@_sabanaqvi) December 16, 2019
It is silly to compare the power of the state to that of the people, and more so, its most vulnerable part - the students. With the resources the army, police and the state has at its disposal, affirmative action has to be used with responsibility. The students, on the other hand, only have their words, their banners, their copies of the constitution. Their freedom of speech and the right to dissent is their only weapon. Strangely, the graffiti painted on the walls of Jamia affirms that the free will of the people can never be clamped down. The writing stands to remind the people that the truth always triumphs and no matter how brutal the assault.
¡ª Neyaz Farooquee (@nafsmanzer) December 16, 2019
¡ª Neyaz Farooquee (@nafsmanzer) December 16, 2019
¡ª Neyaz Farooquee (@nafsmanzer) December 16, 2019
Graffiti has been the medium of choice, in several parts of the world in moments of turmoil. It has historically enabled people to express their beliefs and call for the liberties they seek. In India currently, the clampdown on students and the excessive use of force by the state machinery has set the stage for prolonged and sustained resistance.
The varsity is no battlefield. There are no equal sides. The state can not be a bully. The muzzling of free thought or dissent only leads to a greater diversity of expression -- placards, hoardings and now the use of graffiti by the students are there to listen to their assertions. But are you listening?
