AMUSU Ex-president’s Statement Read Out at Protest in Geneva

A statement by the outgoing president of the Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union—narrating the events of December 15 when the police had allegedly unleashed violence on the campus—was read out at a protests march outside the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva on January 31.

A group of students at the varsity had organised a protest on December 15 against the violence in Jamia Millia Islamia earlier that day and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. A fact-finding report later found that law enforcement officials, who were called in by the administration to quell the protests, had used stun grenades “usually used in war-like situations or terror operations” at students, and raised “chilling slogans like Jai Shri Ram while attacking the students and setting ablaze their scooters and vehicles...”

The independent inquiry team—comprising former IAS officer Harsh Mander, academic Nandini Sundar, senior journalist John Dayal and author Natasha Badhwar and nine other members—had found that the university administration “not only failed in their duty to protect the campus and its residents against brutality by the Uttar Pradesh Police, but also that they in fact invited the police forces and their weapons into the campus”. Six students were injured in the incident.

In this context, the statement by M Salman Imtiaz, who was the president of AMUSU in 2018-19, reads: “On the night of 15th December, Indian police and other armed state forces were present in massive numbers at the university gates and were ready with ammunition. Police entered the university campus and attacked us like criminals. Police were all prepared and motivated for violence. They were determined to crush the campus movement against the new citizenship law and inflict the maximum pain on students. In complete violation of standard manual, police used pistols, rifles, stun grenades, single way grenades, chili shells, plastic pallets, rubber bullets and other weapons against students.”

Imtiaz says that he was hit in the chest and was taken to a hospital. “[W]hen I opened my eyes, I saw over 80 students lying in the beds in the JN Medical College and Hospital. They were bleeding and had injuries in different parts of the body. Not only students, ambulance drivers, medical professionals, AMU employees and many of the AMU gatekeepers were ruthlessly beaten by police. Ambulances were stopped and broken. One ICU ambulance was broken by five policemen. More than 30 students were illegally detained including juveniles. In Room No. 46 of Morison Court, Aftab Hostel, police fired two tear shells and a sound shell into the room that led to a fire. Students in the room were forced to come out and were mercilessly beaten. In one case, police broke the door of a toilet where nine students were hiding in fear and then these students were beaten with rods and gun butts. They were abused and scolded. They were asked to go to Pakistan and stay away from the protests against the new citizenship act (the crux of police aggression in AMU). They were taunted as anti-nationals.”

The former AMUSU president also alleges that since after the incident, the Kashmiri students studying at the university are living in fear. “Their homeland has been deprived of constitutional rights and recently Union Government has enacted presidential order and revoked the autonomy of this only Muslim majority state in India. The province has been divided into two and reduced to a Union territory. Thousands of people including students have been illegally detained. Our students from JK are feeling suppressed and strangulated. In the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, more than 25 people were killed in police firing on unarmed protesters. Police have attacked civilians and damaged properties worth millions. Instead of providing compensation, police are forcing commoners to pay money to the state. Women across all faiths are being beaten and detained in UP,” reads the statement.

Imtiaz concludes: “If the world community fails to build pressure on the BJP government, India may cease to be a progressive democracy. Indian pluralism will become the worst hit. The Indian constitution will become a casualty. The relations with the neighbouring counties will simmer. The minorities in India will suffer. India will create millions of stateless people. A huge chunk of people will be sent to detention camps. The human rights situation in India will dangerously deteriorate. Education, employment and growth of India will fall, creating miseries to millions of people. We are making sure that our government takes pro-people decisions; the international community has its role.”

Read the full statement here.

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