Published 13:19 IST, December 18th 2019
Students and alumni of Mumbai's KC College extend solidarity with JMI, DU, AMU students
Students and alumni of the Mass Media department of the KC College, Mumbai expressed solidarity with student protesters of DU, AMU and Jamia University.
Students and alumni of the Mass Media department of the KC College, Mumbai have extended their support and solidarity with the students of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University, Delhi University (DU) and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) who are staging a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The students and alumni of the college have written a letter where they condemned the "violence" and alleged "brutality" by the cops against the students at JMI, DU, and AMU. They also condemned the police action taken on the civilians from across the country who were protesting against the "unconstitutional" CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The letter by the students read, "The Constitution of India safeguards every citizen's right to protest. However, there have been coordinated attempts to mute dissenting voices in educational campuses and a systematic attack on the freedom of expression of students and members of the academia. The right to dissent is integral to the functioning of a democracy, and student politics, in particular, are essential to shaping the future of the country."
KC College students condemn the use of violence
The students and alumni condemned the use of violence, gun firing and teargas shells on the protestors by the police authorities present on the protest site.
"We are gravely concerned by emerging reports of police forces entering women's hostels and sexually assaulting female students, of students who were shot and illegally detained by force, of hostel rooms set on fire to force students out of the safe space of their campuses, and of students whose whereabouts are currently unknown," they said.
The students also went on to further demand immediate medical attention to the protestors and urged the police authorities to "withhold any further acts of violence against protestors, and that internet blockages be lifted so a better understanding of the on-ground situation can be assessed".
Anti-CAA protests intensified across the country after several students were injured after a protest against the new Citizenship law turned violent in Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia area on Sunday. The CAA seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. The citizenship will be only provided to those who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014.
(With inputs from ANI)
Updated 14:13 IST, December 18th 2019