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Students from 30 Universities Unite Against CAA and NRC

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A fact finding team comprising the students from 30 prominent educational institutions of India  has been on a move to interact and collect details from the affected during the devastating incidents that took place during 14th to 19th January.

The young enthusiasts and the students of premier institutions, with their ongoing protests and struggles against the CAA and NRC have not only exemplified the power of youth in a representative nation, but have also contributed towards making the Government to rethink on the newly passed laws under the above mentioned acts. Continuing with the same, the students of 30 prestigious universities including Banaras Hindu University (BHU), University of Delhi (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IITD), Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), National Law University (NLU), Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), Allahabad University, and others, came together to create a students fact finding mission.

The mission was aimed at collecting facts and statements of the victims of the heavy violence that took place from 14th to 19th of January with a target to share the video and audio testimonies at a press conference scheduled for 22nd January. The team released a report on Uttar Pradesh police brutality in dealing with anti- CAA protests with specifically targeting the muslim population. The group of students travelled to all the 15 violence affected cities situated in Uttar Pradesh covering Meerut, Bijnor, and even Firozabad, primarily from January 14th to 19th.

A student of Jamia Millia Islamia informed about some of the common observations of the team which included, the police exclusively targeting the muslim ghettos which belonged to the economically weaker sections of the society. Rag pickers, daily wage labourers, workers of small dhabas were some of the few among them. As, per his statement police, instead of curbing the protest often indulged in open firing killing especially the minors paying no regard to the provision against firing above the waist.

He further explained about the instances where the injured who went for an X-Ray were not allowed to keep the reports and other documents with them. Not only this, as per his statement there are many hospitals in Uttar Pradesh who denied treatment to many wounded who lost their lives which otherwise could have been saved. In his final statements he said, “This violence can be seen as the culmination of communal polarisation spread by government and media over past few years affecting administrations and psyche of a common person, resulting in the generation of a sence of hatred towards a particular community.”.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Kriti Gupta

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Young India Unites Against CAA

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On 20th January, 2020, Young India Coordination Committee called for Rally from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar, against Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA)-National Register of Citizens (NRC)-National Population Register (NPR), two days prior to Supreme Court’s hearing on the issue, along with All India Students’ Association (AISA), Krantikari Yuva Sangathan ( KYS ), Students’ Federation of India ( SFI ), All India Students’ Federation (AISF ) among others from Universties all over Delhi. 

20th January, 2020, observed a mass rally of students marching from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar at 1 p.m. against CAA-NRC-NPR. The rally was called for by Young India Coordination Committee along with multiple student organizations like AISA, KYS, SFI, AISF, Jawaharlal Nehru University Student’s Union (JNUSU), JCC, Joint Forum for Academic and Social Justice, Karwan-e-Mohabbat, Shaheen Bagh Protest Committee (United Youth Brigade), We the People among others.

Harsh Mandar, prominent Social Activist, said, “We are fighting against hatred with our love and Constitution. The Young India is showing us the hope and we will take back our India.”

Hundreds of students belonging to different universities like University of Delhi (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and other student organizations joined together to raise slogans of Azadi against the undemocratic and unsecular rule of the Government and against CAA-NRC-NPR.

They chanted slogans of “Inquilab Zindabad” (long live the revolution), “BJP hoshiyaar” (stay alert BJP), “Secularism Up-Up, Communalism Down-Down”, and sang popular songs improvised to create tunes of resistance. 

N Sai Balaji, National President, AISA, said, “Young India is one such powerful platform which not only unites all students and youth but today has shown that they won’t get divided by hate. But have unitedly launched a campaign to defend citizenship and defend the Constitution.” 

These protests are being held simultaneously in cities like  Mallapuram, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Patna, Kolkata, Allahabad, Varanasi, and many others against CAA-NRC-NPR.

“Just after two days the Supreme Court is going to hear the petitions challenging CAA so by this rally and across the country we are trying to give this message that this march means a public declaration, that this public is not in support of CAA, specifically the students, the young people of this country. We are against this CAA. We are born in a secular and country and will not let them (the Government) destroy the secular fabric of this country. India cannot accept secularism on religious lines,” quoted Kawalpreet Kaur, Delhi President, AISA.

The rally was followed by talks addressed by prominent speakers such as Harsh Mander, Umar Khalid, Gauhar Raza and Professor Ratan Lal among others at Jantar Mantar.

Umar Khalid, popular youth Social Activist and former student of Jawaharlal Nehru University, told DU Beat, “Young India today wants jobs and education. It does not want divisive laws like CAA or NRC or NPR. When we demand education, what does the government tell us? That spending on education is a waste of taxpayer’s money. But our money is not gonna be spent on putting us through an exercise in which we will be forced to prove our citizenships. They are using our money to strip us of our rights and we cannot allow that to happen. The government does not have that right. The government is here to serve us, not lord over us. Citizens also have rights. We are demanding those rights-  right to education, right to employment, right to healthcare.”

Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary Communist Party of Indi (ML), suggested that the country is fighting it’s second freedom struggle.

“This law has been brought to divide people based on their religion and if we allow them to do this, tomorrow it will lead to caste discrimination.” he further added.

Feature Image Credits: Gyanarjun Saroj for DU Beat

Aditi Gutgutia

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Government Targets the Educated First

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Universities, the breeding ground of education and ideals, echo today with chants of Azadi, and Faiz’s Hum Dekhenge. They think we’ll let go and surrender. However, they don’t know that our resistance is stronger than their hatred.

 
As another year goes by, the ‘one who must not be named’ reigns back to power and, yet again, the country erupts in massive dissent in one of the ways propagated by the moderate protests. While more universities get labelled as ‘anti-national’ by the followers of the ‘party that must not be named’, I am reminded of Satyajit Ray’s Hirak Rajar Deshe (1980); as the protagonist says, “Era joto beshi pore, toto beshi jaane, toto kom mane.” (The more they learn, the more they know, the less they obey).
Nandini Sukhija, a student of Mumbai University, said, “Our political leaders gain power by mobilization of groups, which are usually composed of brainwashed partisans. The intellectuals know better than of all for their cheap and divisive tactics, by which they threaten the Government’s power. It’s not hard to connect the dots and realise why fascist governments will always clamp down the educated and shut down channels of information.”
The well-read are rational critics whereas the ideologists are the irrational ones. Targeting universities, the educated, scholars, and writers, is an age-old gameplay to curb the anti- establishment voices, to curb nothing but dissent and voice.

Forcing the well- read to obey the regressive actions coerced on the vulnerable sections of the society is a task of great objection. The very reason why their voices are silenced is that the establishment is aware that they are wrong, they know that they’d fail if the truth prevailed, if the educated people’s voice reverberated.

The youth is the ‘future’ of India, long ahead after the remains of the politicians have vanished into thin air, their remnants left as a by-product of hate, fear and, fascism, the youth will still exist.

History is evidential of the exemplary contribution and corrupt silence that students are bestowed upon by fascist governments. When the ones to oppose, the ones to criticise cease to exist, their propagation, their ideology, their reign thrives. Democracy without opposition is no democracy at all. Arresting the well-read and labelling them as urban Naxalites is a reminder of the very failure of democracy.
Central universities ordering students to not protest, charging them of disciplinary action to prevent dissent or questioning the Government, Is everyone an accomplice here?

“Educational institutions are the hotspots of awareness. Silencing educational institutions to gain peace is like burning the Amazon and then expecting the earth to be ecologically sound. The consequences will only intensify. “Finger on your lips is not something appealing to the youth,
neither is it going to stay for too long,” Priyanshi Banerjee, a student of Lady Shri Ram College rightfully explains.
If we go down the pages of history, Nazi Germany right before World War II reminds us of eerily similar circumstances. Sonderaktion Krakau, a German terror operation against academics at Jagiellonian University performed in order to eradicate the Polish intellectual elites.

Along with this, Frankfurt University was the first university targeted by Nazis for their liberal, exuberant academic record, scholarships, international faculty, and uphold of democratic values and ideals.
The times we live in are scary, they attack unarmed students, name-call academicians, murder journalists, hush down voices, curb protests. Where is dissent? Where did the safety valve of democracy go?
All revolutions, all rebellions, nationalist movements, demand for rights, protests, agitations, all starts from the students; the very foundation of a stable country. The recent attacks on students at various universities are nothing but an act of cowardice in the world’s largest democracy; the very country which once upheld the ideals of secularism, democracy, justice, liberty, and equality.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Anandi Sen 

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Campus Central

I Am Offended: Sail Through the Censorship Debate

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Both, Censorship and the Freedom of Speech require a delicate balance and immense intuitiveness. Many have argued on both sides, This piece aims to highlight what ideas stand out in this debate? 

Censorship refers to moderating the information and ideas that are disseminated in the society. After entering the web of the censorship debate, there is no escape. This fascinating, unsolvable mystery has questions that lead to more questions, gently treading the path between morality and legality. Everyone’s subjective notions of what is moral, acceptable, decent, and inoffensive are at interplay.

Now a question that would make Mr Pahlaj Nihalanijump onto his toes: Is censorship a good thing?

An infamous opinion piece, in the New York Times, ‘Free Speech Is Killing Us’, addressed the issue of noxious speech. Rebutting the idea of the Internet as a beacon of progress, it reminded the readers of the social media driven campaigns of Trumpand Duterte, the murder of Heather Heyer, the massacres in Pittsburg and Christchurch. “But what about speech that’s designed to drive a woman out of her workplace or to bully a teenage into suicide or to drive a democracy towards totalitarianism?” writer, Andrew Marantz, probed his readers.

Moving away from this, on another end of this spectrum there are moral policing and unnecessary restrictions being imposed. Banning of films representing the LGBTQ community, deletion of Twitters posts talking about casteism, unnecessary edits on several films by the former Chief of Sankar Board and being tagged as ‘anti-national’ for expressing dissent.

What such pieces necessitate are a need to draw lines around some content on the internet. But how easy is this task? Youtube’s ban on violent content resulted in reportage of the Syrian war being take down, Twitter’s rules about sexual content led to information on sexual health also being removed. Regulations can, therefore, close doors on several avenues to spread awareness.

A move criticised for its timing right before the General Elections, stricter social media regulations were put in place. The authorities claimed this was done to curb misinformation. This would require content deemed as “unlawful” by government will have to be erased from Facebook, Google, TikTokand other platforms. WhatsAppwill be required to decrypt encrypted data, to trace it to its original sender. Netflix, Hotstarand seven other platforms have begun self-regulation in attempts to avoid censorship. This played in favour of, our favourite mota bhai, Mr Mukesh Ambani, for obvious reasons.

Stringent censorship can be found in countries like China, Saudi Arabia and Russia. With more than 150 days of internet shutdown in Kashmir, how long before we enter the list?

Journalism, as an independent and impartial body, is not meant to serve the establishment. Its duty is to question, educate and be the voice of people. It was not birthed to be controlled. A democracy seizes to exist when its journalists, activists and reporters begin to live in fear. The ABP row and stepping down of two leading journalists demonstrated the heights of control over the press. The gruesome violence at the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo was also a dark day in the history of the press.

Free speech is an inextricable part and the cornerstone of a democracy. Dissent cannot be suppressed under the garb of censorship, because with changing times, the youth refuses to settle and rather demands what’s better. The New York Times piece warns against absolutism and how it cannot be used as an opt out from harassment. It is a right to be exercised with full responsibility. Use of force cannot be a medium to extinguish protests and silence voices of people.

Going back to the dilemma we started with, one’s morality emerges from their upbringing, culture, values, and education. The same rules cannot hold true for all, which makes censorship an endless debate. While morality is where we use our discretion, the higher authorities have the onus of the legalities of it.

Feature Image Credits: Debate.Org

Shivani Dadhwal

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DUB Speak

Editorial: Fighting the Thought Police: Social Media and Dissent

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These are powerful times. These are politically volatile times. These are disappointing times. These are resisting times. Most important of all, these are questioning and questionable times.

With the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) being protested against vehemently in the North-East and across the rest of the country, including the popular hubs of politics and entertainment – Delhi and Mumbai – respectively, the citizens of the country are awakening to the anti-people policies of the current administration, including (but not limited to) the controversial abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, the policies to privatize education, the Trans Person’s Bill, and the continual curbing of dissent by arresting protesting activists. As I write this, the Farmers’ Leader, Akhil Gogoi, is being charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act – a move that has invited widespread criticism for its arbitrary and oppressive nature.

In a backdrop such as this, it is impossible to go about one’s life – especially as students who study Foucault, Orwell, Ambedkar, and Marx in the classrooms of one of the premier universities of the country – without being the least bit affected with the socio-political climate of the country. The slogan, “Personal is political” manifests itself  powerfully before us, now more than ever, since the majority of us who are on any social networking platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, among many others, cannot possibly scroll through the feeds nonchalantly, without coming across stories, posts, or articles on the current climate. What, then, becomes of social media activism?

I confess that I myself, in the past, have sneered at ‘social media influencers’ and the like, believing that the social and cultural capital enjoyed by them, by virtue of their popularity, was taking up unfair space in the powerful discourse of ground-level activism. However, the past few months have altered this perspective drastically, because social media has now seemingly emerged as the preferred space of discourse for many, includingsystematically disenfranchised communities like trans-people, women, and people from conservative households. When paramilitary troops and police forces are employed in the ratio of three is to one, at organised protests in India Gate, Jantar Mantar, and brutalise the students of Jamia (JMI), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), among other locations, then being on-ground becomes a life and death battle for many from the aforementioned communities.

Social media, then, serves as the forum to express dissent, become informed, and share awareness. This is not to say that the women at Shaheen Bagh, sitting in the chilling winter of Delhi for about a month now, are not palpable to a violent crackdown, or that the resistance that has engulfed Kashmir for multiple decades is on equal footing with sharing a tweet, but it is to acknowledge the newfound power that is threatening the authorities in control. Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) IT cell has been notoriously in the news for circulating numbers, advertising that calling said numbers would get the people “free subscription to Netflix” or rendezvous with porn-stars. Doctored photos of students holding placards like “Hinduo ki kabrkhudegi” instead of the original “Hindutva ki kabra khudegi,” were instantly circulated in social media pages, attempting to polarize communal sentiments against students at JMI and AMU. In no time after actress Deepika Padukone stood behind JNU Students’ Union President, Aishe Ghosh, and activist Kanahiya Kumar, that the hashtag “BoycottChhapak” was trending on social media and sexually profanity being hurled at her. Internet lockdown in Kashmir has continued for over 150 days now, while internet services in numerous states like Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, and Gujarat were blocked. Instances like this are testimony to the fact that any platform of public dissent, especially a technologically savvy one like social media that people from older generations in the administration are largely unable to grasp or master, acts to counter the narrative of normalcy our Prime Minister has been propagating with his famous line – “Sab changa si!” A single tweet on the everyday violence in the country is indeed momentous enough to throttle this false narrative.

While the criticism against social media has always been the legitimacy of the sources and the accountability of any debates/discussions over it, private citizens like Mitali Bhasin, Sukhnidh Kaur, Pravan Sawhney, Divya Kandukuri, are some of the few names who have set precedent for researching their own resources for news and compiling information for public use in these tumultuous times. Pages like With Kashmir, and media houses like The Wire, The Print, Quint have proven to be reliable sources of information and discourses, publicized and accessible through social media platforms.

The language barrier parting English, Hindi, and other regional languages in India has always been a drawback for left liberal discourse in India, and the dearth of similar resources / activism in languages apart from English, including in Hindi, remains a blind-spot that needs correction in an era where the voting public, from Savarna households, including in our family WhatsApp groups is unaware of the manipulation and propaganda being targeted towards them, because of language or technological gaps that disengage their participation in social media activism. However, as millennials and post-millennials, it is our prerogative to engage in sharing the information that reaches us, creating the much-needed space for dissent amid the hoardings of propaganda.

Most important of all, it is time that to take heed of all the tools at our disposal in fighting violence sponsored by the State. It is time to change those display pictures to red, to make highlights on Instagram with curated information, to tweet and flood the judiciary, the Police, and the ministries, because when we fight fascism in Orwellian times like these, it becomes poignant to break free, in any and all ways possible, from what 1984 labelled the Thought Police.

Anushree Joshi

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DUTA Marches to Parliament Street and Courts-Arrest

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On 10th January 2020, University of Delhi (DU) teachers marched from Mandi House to the Parliament Street demanding absorption of all teachers, promotion and pension among other issues. Following them Courting-Arrest, Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) office bearers were invited to meet the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) Secretary, UGC Chairperson and Jt. Secretary, MHRD at the Ministry.

Releasing a Press Release, DUTA Office Bearers expressed their discontentment with MHRD’s failure in the implementation of the 5 December Record of Discussions in entirety. The officials have expressed their commitment to implement the same. In this context, DUTA representatives pointed out the inaction on the Vice Chancellor (VC)’s part in implementing the 5th December Record of Discussions with respect to releasing option forms and initiating the promotion process. They also pointed out the non-implementation of the proposed relief on screening criteria and counting of past services.

The release of additional Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) expansions on student-teacher ratio along with University’s (in)action to ensure that no ad hoc is displaced due to the EWS reservation until permanent appointments are made; were also raised.

Dr Agnitra Ghosh, Professor, Kamla Nehru College, Member of DUTA, told DU Beat, “The ruling regime is hell bent on pushing more and more policies of contractualization to destroy public universities. And the DUTA and faculty members of DU are fighting against that. The entire system of ad hocism has created a situation of employment without any security and dignity. Now, the admin further wanted to downgrade ad hoc position to guest, which was resisted. For the last 10 years, DU faculty members have been denied promotions. A university can’t run in this way without basic minimum facilities provided to it’s faculty members. But DU teachers are consistently fighting back and we have also received overwhelming solidarity from the student community of DU.”

With regard to the association’s key demand, one-time absorption of temporary ad-hoc teachers, MHRD stated that only Governemt should take a decision on the same. DUTA expressed their disapproval and sought justness of the fact that several thousand young teachers have been languishing for long years without permanent jobs.

Discussing over the release of the corrected concordance tables for revision of pensions, DUTA officials were informed that the matter was presented before the Finance Ministry. Demand for the withdrawal of the letter dated 21.04.2019 to the University by MHRD was also raised, for which they were asked to pursue the matter with the Finance Ministry.

Apart from this, DUTA submitted a memorandum stating the other long-standing demand of teachers, the resolution of the UGC Regulations 2018, which has a direct bearing on the pending promotions. DUTA officials also expressed their opposition to the Draft New Education Policy 2019’s anti-education recommendations, uniting against the corporatisation of higher education. DUTA reiterated their demand for the VC’s resignation.

Since 4th December 2019, Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) has been on an indefinite strike and a 24-hour indefinite dharna outside the Vice Chancellor’s Office seeking absorption, promotion and pension for ad hocs and temporary staff.

Feature Image Credits: Hindustan Times

Anandi Sen
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Around the Campus

Gargi College Prohibits Protests on Campus

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 After protests in Gargi College campus against the violence endured by students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, and the government’s anti-people policies, the administration prohibited students from protesting in campus premises.

 On 6th January 2020, the students of Gargi College carried out a peaceful protest and discussion in the campus against police brutality in campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and against Citizenships (Amendment) Act (CAA)-National Register of Citizens (NRC). The gathering was supported by the Students’ Union and was attended by students with posters and placards.

However, on behalf of the Principal, Dr. Promila Kumar, the Union Advisor asked for the protest to be shut down as the posters, apparently, were inappropriate. The advisor also asked the students to carry out the discussion indoors and prohibited sloganeering.

As a result, the students of Gargi College proceeded to recite slogans outside their Campus.

 On 7th January, the Principal, then, in a discussion with the protestors, said that no gathering would be permitted without the principal’s written permission.

The administration of the Gargi College released a notice prohibiting students from participating in any protests unapproved by the principal, stating that all students found doing so would be punished. Moreover, the college now requires prior permission from the police for any gathering outside the college.

IMG-20200110-WA0015

Official Notice by the administration

The notice read, “All students are hereby informed that no gathering or protest of any form in the college premises is allowed without the prior approval of the Principal. Further, the prior permission is required from the police for any protests/gathering outside the College. In case, any student is found protesting in the College premises, disciplinary action shall be taken against such student. Further, if any student protests outside the college, such students shall be solely responsible for his/her action.”

 Ashwini, an Applied Psychology student of the college says, “The gathering was actually something which was approved and put forward by the Students’ Union for which the permission has been granted. However, seeing this bipolar behaviour has upset me to my very core. My college has always been a safe space for something like this, so this wasn’t really something I expected.”

A student, who wished to remain anonymous, stated, “On one hand, by calling it a form of protection the College administration and Principal wanted the College to remain away from tangible issues, as they feared misrepresentation. At the same while, the students wanted to stand up and speak out together. It became a conflict inside the College itself where the positivity of solidarity transformed into negativity and resentment amongst students, students’ union, and the authorities.”

The Gargi College Student Union, on 10th January, along with college Department Presidents, organised another gathering in support of students and against the acts of brutality, which went on peacefully.

Students and teachers were witnessed reciting Hum Dekhenge, Hum Honge Kaamyab and other songs in solidarity. Members of Upstage, the stage play society of Gargi College also enacted a small performance on the ongoing distress in the Nation. The gathering ended with a recitation of the Preamble of the Constitution.

 

IMG-20200110-WA0050__01__01 IMG-20200110-WA0049__01__01

Official statement by Students’ Union, Gargi College

Image Credits: Instagram @studentuniongargi

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Satviki Sanjay

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DU Students Come together in Support of All India General Strike : Bharat Bandh

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On Wednesday, 8th January 2020, students of University of Delhi (DU) gathered in hundreds and took to roads to express their agitation towards the Government in a peaceful protest. 

Commencing from the Faculty of Arts, North Campus, the March comprised of not only students but teachers and various political organisations as well. This commotion was followed by the immoral series of events that recently took place in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) after similar incidents happened in Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Students of DU protested in solidarity with those who were victims of police brutality and hooliganism inside college campuses.

 Maitreyi, member of Pinjra tod said, “DU students came together in large numbers today to send a message to this fascist government that the students and citizens of this country won’t be scared into silence. The terror they have unleashed within universities like Jamia, AMU, and JNU clearly shows that the government fears students and wants to suppress any kind of dissent. The thousands of students that turned up today to protest against this fascist government shows that they’ve failed. Colleges like St. Stephen’s which is deemed to be highly isolated from campus politics and larger politics as well saw that 400 hundred students protested and marched within the campus and then marched towards arts faculty. Most colleges have a turnout of hundreds of students here today. The government has failed to instil fear in students through Delhi police. We will march and we will fight this government every step of the way. we won’t forget Kashmir or the trans bill and demand that this fascist state immediately rolls back the CAA and cancels the NRC/NPR. We will continue to be on the streets until this is done.”

Rain in January’s cold weather didn’t deter the students from expressing their dissent against the Government. The crowd chanted slogans against Akhil Bharatiya Vidya Parishad (ABVP). Students also showed up with Dhapli (Tambourine), making the protest musical. The outcry of students heard slogans like Inquilab Zindabad and CAA wapis lo (Revoke CAA). The rally covered the entire North Campus with constant energy throughout.

Simran Chawdhary, Member of United Against Hate (Umar Khalid’s organisation) said, “This is against the violence that penetrates on our campuses that are supposed to be our safe spaces for us to debate and deliberate. You can’t enter campuses with lathis and axes and getaway. This fight won’t end until each one of us feels safe. Our campuses are our home and no one will get away with violence. This is against ABVP goons who get funded by the right wing organisations. It’s high time Modi and Amit Shah stop behaving like arrogant goons.”

 At the end of the rally, various speakers took turns to express their resentment against the Government. Gautam Bhatia, renowned advocate spoke about how the recently proposed actions of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tarnishes the efforts of those great leaders who made India, the Nation it is today. Gulfisha from Seelampur also addressed the crowd and shared with them how she and dozens of other women stand strong even after the atrocities faced by them in Seelampur.

The protest didn’t stay restricted to one cause but rather, different groups of people uprose on different issues and came together to support each other.

Featured Image Credits: Avni Dhawan for DU Beat

Avni Dhawan

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Criminal Complaint Against Author Arundhati Roy for Her NPR-NRC Speech

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Author Arundhati Roy is facing a criminal complaint for a comment made by her in her speech on National People’s Registry (NPR) and National Registry of Citizens (NRC) during a protest.

Author Arundhati Roy is facing criminal charges after she had a police complaint filed against her as reported on 27th December 2019. The award-winning author was booked for a comment she made during her “controversial” speech at the University of Delhi (DU) regarding the NPR-NRC. The complaint was lodged in Delhi’s Tilak Marg police station by advocate Rajiv Kumar Ranjan, who has demanded that an FIR be registered against her.

The FIR against the author has been requested under Sections 295A- deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs; 504-intentionally insulting, and thereby gives provocation to any person, intending or knowing it to be likely that such provocation will cause him to break the public peace, or to commit any other offence; 153- wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot, and 120B- party to criminal conspiracy-of the Indian Penal Code.

The author had urged netizens ‘lie’ during census over NPR, or give ‘fake names and addresses.” The author had told the crowd that the NPR- National Population Register- would serve as a database for the NRC. But what’s even more shocking was that Roy had said that the Modi government shouldn’t be given the remaining four years,” the complaint said, as reported by News18.

 In a controversial comment, Roy said, “But we have to fight them for the next 4 years. Firstly, we should not give them four years, but we must have a plan. When they come to your house asking for your name, you give them some other name — like Ranga Billa, Kung-Fu Kutta, give your address as Seven Race Course road and let’s fix one phone number. But we need multiple subversions. We were not born to face lathis and bullets.”

Uma Bharti, a Bhartiya Janata Party leader, commented, “I ashamed to take the name of such a woman that idolises people like Ranga-Billa. Her views are not only anti-women, anti-humanity, but also shows a very disgusting mentality.”

Roy later clarified on 27th December that was she intended was to “propose civil disobedience with a smile,” and also blamed media houses for misinterpreting her speech. This controversy comes after the ongoing protests against the government’s CAA, NRC, NPR bills.

Feature Image Credits: PTI file

Shreya Juyal

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Arts & Culture

Student Led Dissent and Mental Health

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Students have taken up the dissenting role in society against brutality and unconstitutional laws, but how does it affect ones mental health and what are some measures they can take?

Student led protests all over the country and especially in the capital have rocked the Nation. As more and more students take to the streets and fight for their idea of India, it has become quite easy to see student protesters as one uniform body. However, vilifying by several media outlets have also led to many forgetting that these are simply just students, who are protesting for what they think is right. For many of us, it is all a new and scary, which might affect us in ways we aren’t aware of and hence, we should not forget to take care of our mental health.

Many students had read about State suppression and brutality in their history books, but seeing it happen in real time in the country and the city where one lives can be a lot to comprehend rationally. Aditi Gutgutia, a first year student from LSR, shared “I’ve heard my friends cry over these atrocities. I’m seeing my country, it’s people, fall to a ground where there doesn’t seem to be any coming back from. And I’m scared. I have never been this vocal or even aware about politics, but now I realize how crucial it is to stand up for what you believe is right. “

In such a politically charged atmosphere, everyone has different opinions and constant defending of one’s opinions can also prove tiring. Bhavika, a DU student and founder of The Happy Company, an online platform where people can reach out for psychological help brings this into view with a different perspective. She said “ we received a messages from people of both sides of the argument. As an individual I have my own political views but as a psychological assistant, it’s my duty to detach myself from those views while listen to someone venting out, and this is how we’ve trained our Volunteers.Over the past few weeks, a lot of us have got into heated arguments over the issue, and that effects us and the other person, more than we think.”

Asmita, a member of Antaraal, which provides free psychological aid to all the students who are going through any form of psychological distress, brought into account that the emotions we feel are complex in this matter. “People are feeling a lot of despair because of whats going on, they are feeling afraid because either they or their friends are involved, they are also feeling very angry at the same time and wanting to do something. Its a lot of complex emotions. A lot of the calls that are coming in are from students who were not previously active in politics, and to them its a very new thing and they don’t know how to react, how much can they push, there is a lot of resistance from their families who are not very happy that they are doing this so they have to fight another battle at home.”

She also suggested some ways to keep one’s mental health at a stable place in these times. Firstly, she suggested not to deny emotions and feelings. She suggested not thinking about whether we are under-reacting or over reacting, and to be in touch with our emotions. She also pointed out the importance of taking a break, to refuel, get better and prepare and not feel that it is a lone fight, and try to look at the positive support from so many others. In the end she said that while emotions and rationality are not two separate things and we should embrace our emotions to help ourselves and others, it is also important to get educated and to talk to people who have more knowledge on the issue, because with information and not just an emotional argument, it will be very hard to dismiss us.

Feature Image Credits: The Wire

Prabhanu Kumar Das

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