Across TN, Students Rise Against CAA, Jamia Police Brutality

Chennai: Students unions of various central universities held a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Monday and voiced their concern over the police attack on students of Jamia Milia, Delhi and Aligarh Muslim University, Lucknow.

The SFI protesters were evicted by the police and later courted arrest. Students, youth and other political organisations have now pledged to begin a widespread agitation on the CAA and the brutal attack on the students by police forces.

The protesting students blocked trains in five centres in Tamil Nadu -- Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tirunelveli and Trichi -- against “state repression” and the controversial CAA. State SFI president, Mariappan, told NewsClick: “The government of India, led by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, is trying to divide the country on religious and communal lines. They are trying to amend the citizenship act on religious lines which is against the fundamentals of the Indian Constitution. The attack on the protesting students is a sign of a fascist regime, which is dangerous for every citizen of India.”

“The state government here is playing second fiddle to the Union government. They have voted in favour of the Bill and betrayed the Tamils from Sri Lanka living here for decades”, added Mariappan.

PU STUDENTS BOYCOTT CLASSES

The Pondicherry University Students Union (PUSU) called for the boycott of classes against “state repression” on the student community. The students of the university gathered in front of the second gate of the campus and held a demonstration led by PUSU president Parichay Yadav.

Vandana Shankar, joint secretary of SFI Pondicherry, said, “The student community has faced severe oppression from the police forces in JMI and AMU for democratically protesting against an anti- constitutional law. The right of citizenship should not be based on any religion and the BJP government is trying to divide the nation in the name of religion”.

The students also accused the university administration of being hand-in-glove with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). They alleged that BJP cadres had entered the university campus last week when the PUSU held a protest against the CAA. “Last week when we protested against the CAA, some of the local BJP cadres carrying flags entered the campus. We fear the collaboration between the university administration and the BJP in curbing the rights of the students”, added Vandana.

IIT-MADRAS STUDENTS’s PROTEST

The students of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM) held a protest inside the campus called for by the Students' Collective. The protesters demanded the withdrawal of the CAA and condemned the police action on Jamia students.

Azhar Moideen, research scholar in IITM and part of Chintabar, one of the students' organisations which participated in the protest, told NewsClick, “We strongly condemn the police action on demonstrators across the country. The students here are opposing the unconstitutional CAA and the National Registry of Citizens aimed at destroying the very characteristic of our nation.”

The students of New College, Loyola College in Chennai, too, had boycotted classes and held a sit-in protest.