The students of Aligarh Muslim University have remained steadfast in their protest against CAA that they began on December 9. They have braved police brutality, administration action, harsh weather and threats to continue to hold their ground at the campus despite it being shut down. Today, they're inviting people to join them in watching documentaries at the Bab-E-Syed, their iconic entrance at 6.30 pm.
The documentaries are — Hitler's Rise to Power and Stateless, an Unconventional Story of New India and the protesting students are extending the invitation to all interested to come and watch the films along with them. Yesterday, the students were addressed by Advocate Asad Hayat Khan, a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court. "Several political parties have changed their stance on CAA after mass protests. This shows the necessity of people protesting against such Acts," the advocate said. While calling for the protests to be peaceful, the advocate said that the government and administration should stop misuse of the Criminal Procedure Code Section 144 to prevent dissent.
"CAA and NRC are issues of the general population, and students taking the lead in protest against these is strengthening the power of civilians at large," he said. The students in their statement thanked Amnesty International India for releasing a police report on the police violence unleashed on December 15. "We urge NHRC to take up the petition on an urgent basis and carry out an inquiry into the incident," the students requested.
The students in their statement said they continue to stand in solidarity with the protesters across the country, "We also stand in solidarity with the protesters throughout the country, who, despite brutal repression by the state machinery have held on to the protests, giving a strong message to the current regime that all its decisions won’t be accepted. We call upon all the student bodies and civil society groups to work together in a coordinated manner along with maintaining its original character of Muslim identity assertion."
